Heart's Desire
by K-chu
Summary: She thought she had it all but Haruno Sakura was doomed from the start. She was like a moth to the flame, powerless to resist the pull of something, someone, greater than herself. And like a moth, she would be burned.
1. Engagement

**Heart's Desire, SasuSaku**

I.

The soft pitter-patter of the rain resounded throughout the Uchiha Manor. It was quite a calming sound to the lone, pink haired female currently lying on a large bed in one of many rooms inside the house. Aside from the necessities; a wardrobe, bedside tables and a desk with medical texts scattered across it, the room was quite bare. There was only a single picture of Team 7 when they were still children and oblivious to their future paths on the long and twisted road known as life.

Sakura lay on her back, staring at the ceiling in contemplation during the twilight hours. She supposed if she were to jump back in time and tell her young self where she was at in life presently, her past self would be squealing with joy. By the age of 24, she had already etched her spot in history as a war hero and renowned medic, rivaled only by Tsunade herself. She was admired by many for her beauty (though she would never admit that herself), intelligence and unwavering loyalty to her nation and friends. She knew, of course, that her past self would be most happy to hear that she was married to the Uchiha Sasuke. The boy of her dreams and the man she'd chased after for years. Despite his betrayal and multiple attempts on her life, she'd finally managed to secure him as her own.

Anyone who'd heard of her would envy her and the life she'd achieved. How could they not? She possibly had the handsomest man alive at her side. Yet, Sakura sighed and covered her face with her hands. Here she was. Alone. In a house large enough for a small army to reside in.

When Sasuke proposed to her a several years after the Fourth Ninja War, she thought she was dreaming. She didn't follow him around like a fangirl anymore but her love for him remained unwavering. He had returned to Konoha; he had returned to _Team 7_. Slowly but surely, upon his return things achieved a semblance of normalcy. Sasuke and Naruto continued their competitive banter and challenged each other to reach unrivaled heights of power and prestige. Anyone could see it was like two brothers, reunited after years of trials and tribulations. They had been through so much and had still managed to find each other.

Sakura, on the other hand, was somewhat tempered by Sasuke's return. She still loved and adored him but she didn't know where their 'relationship' stood. They were never _really_ friends. Not in the way he and Naruto were. On the one hand, she felt she knew Sasuke in a way that no one else did. He had protected her when they were young and on some level must've cared deeply for her. On the other hand, he was a stranger to her. Their lives were so different and since a very young age, he was exposed to darkness and corrupted by it in ways she could never understand. She wanted to understand him, but a part of her was scared and unsure of what she'd discover.

So, in those first few years of Sasuke's return to Konoha, Sakura maintained a healthy degree of caution around him. She carefully measured what she said to him, trying to evaluate the status of their relationship while acting as friendly and genuine as possible.

She remembered vividly the day Sasuke proposed. It wasn't romantic or anything special. In fact, with hindsight she thought it had been more like a business deal than a marriage proposal. If only she hadn't been so naïve. If only she'd taken more time to consider the offer. If only she hadn't been so blinded by love!

Sakura clenched her fist at the sudden memory.

-_Flashback_-

Sakura clasped her hands together as the dark haired man placed the plate of food down in front of her. It was a simple beef curry dish with rice but it smelled delicious and she still couldn't believe who she was dining with tonight. She waited for him to take his seat across from her before she hungrily ate her first bite, "Sasuke-kun, this is amazing!" She took another bite while he nodded his head in silent acknowledgement.

After a few more bites in silence, Sakura set her spoon down on her plate and looked up at Sasuke. His dark eyes seemed to bore into hers with an intensity she was not used to seeing. He seemed to be delving into every crevice of her mind, peeling back all the layers and looking at her basest self. She couldn't hold back a shiver. The look unnerved her and she had to break eye contact by staring off to the side.

She swallowed and unconsciously fidgeted with her hands in her lap. It took a minute for her to compose herself once more. She had to know why she was here.

"Sasuke-kun…" she quickly looked up at him, "I… why did you want to have dinner with me tonight?" She glanced over at him once more and watched as he tilted his head to the side with a questioning look.

Worried she'd offended him she quickly continued, " I mean, I'm very happy! It's just… I think we've only ever eaten together when we're with Naruto so…" her voice faded, hoping he'd fill in the dots.

"Sakura." The way he said her name made her heart skip a beat. His deep voice was both gentle and filled with authority. It enraptured her and she briefly forgot this wasn't one of her many day dreams.

She snapped out of her reverie as he continued talking.

"As you know, I have finished rebuilding the Uchiha Compound," Sakura nodded and waited for him to continue. "I'm now in my twenties and need to progress to the next stage of my life."

Once again, Sakura nodded dumbly. Wondering where this conversation was headed. Maybe Sasuke was having a mid-mid-life crisis, she thought mildly.

"Ninja lifestyle is not always conducive to the longest of life expectancies, and while I doubt there's anyone who could inflict serious harm upon me, one must always be prepared," he paused, gauging her body language carefully.

"It's time that I took a wife and start taking familial responsibilities more seriously since I am the sole remaining member of the Uchiha clan." He laced his fingers together and leaned his chin upon them while gazing at her, seemingly waiting for a response.

"… Oh." Sakura was not entirely sure how to respond. Her eyebrows furrowed together and she wondered if this was his way of gently breaking the news to her that, hey, despite the lifetime she'd spent pining over him, he was finally going to crush her dreams by marrying someone else.

"I suppose… that's a wise decision," she tried to sound happy for him but her voice came out weak and rather pathetic. Internally her mind was racing as she tried to figure out who he could possibly be interested in. That Karin girl? She was really the only other female she ever saw in his company, aside from crowds of fangirls. Dejectedly, she looked at her hands in her lap and began repeating her mantra _do not cry, do not cry, do NOT cry_.

"I'm glad you agree because I was hoping it'd be you."

Sakura's head shot up suddenly and she gaped at him with disbelief. She recited what he'd just said several times over, as if she was trying to decipher some foreign language or complex compound for an antidote. Had she heard right? Was he asking HER to marry HIM. The way he stated it was so calm, as if he were telling her what the weather was supposed to be like tomorrow!

"I… I beg your pardon?" she breathed out.

"I'm asking you," he pointed at her, "if you'll live in the Uchiha compound and be my wife," he breathed out with a small hint of annoyance that went unnoticed by his companion. Once again, those beautiful eyes of his bore into hers as he waited, expectantly, for an answer.

"Me? You want _me_ to… marry you?" She almost choked on the word 'marry'. Had this been anyone else, she would've burst out laughing because this had to be a joke. That or punch them across the room. Except, Uchiha's don't joke. At least not with her.

She thought delicately for a few seconds. This was Sasuke. The boy she grew up with and loved more than anyone else all her life. He was her protector and she was his caretaker. Maybe she'd been wrong to think she was only tolerated by him. Maybe all these years since his return she'd been too busy thinking of her own feelings that she ignored his subtle glances? She tried to convince herself, this proposal must be validation that she truly was one of Sasuke's important people. Because surely, someone doesn't ask you to marry them unless they really like you, right?

Sakura swallowed any reservations she might have and smiled, "Ok Sasuke-kun. I will marry you!" She stood up and hugged him, and for that brief moment she thought she was the luckiest girl in the world.

And thus, Haruno Sakura became the wife of Uchiha Sasuke. The tears that streamed down her face were happy tears, and smiles she smiled were genuine. She was the woman he wanted at his side. She was the one who would remind him what it was like to love.

Or so, that is what she thought back then.

-_End Flashback_-

Sakura rolled onto her side and resisted the urge to cry.

How wrong she had been. She wished she could go back in time and slap that foolish hope of hers out of her mind completely. She would tell herself that being in love doesn't equate being happy. Loving someone isn't enough. Especially if the person you love is incapable of it.

But Haruno Sakura was doomed from the start. She was like a moth to the flame, powerless to resist the pull of something, _someone_, greater than herself. And like a moth, she would be _burned_.

Sakura curled herself into a ball and pulled the blankets up to her chin. She couldn't hold back anymore and the familiar stream of tears poured down her face, dampening the pillow her head rested on. She cried herself to sleep.

* * *

II.

It didn't happen right away, and at first it was mere subtle glances, but a couple months into their marriage Sakura started to notice there was something not right with her husband. She knew it wasn't a typical marriage. They slept in different rooms and had minimal physical contact; they had consummated their marriage to be sure, but it lacked the passion Sakura always imagined would be there. When she would reach for his hands, he pulled back. When she leaned in to kiss him, he turned his face away.

She didn't think she was being physically demanding because growing up she always observed her parents relish in such intimate contact, much to her horror at the time! Perhaps, she thought, it was because Sasuke didn't grow up witnessing such acts between husband and wife.

There were other things too. He seemed only to tolerate her presence when they were in the same room together, but the moment she started to talk to him, he brushed her aside with annoyance. At first, he made excuses on why he could not spend time with her, then he seemed to give up this courtesy and spent all hours of the day and night away from her without a word on why.

Initially, she supposed it was because they still had to get to know each other but then days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and still their conversations consisted of very few exchanges of words.

"Sasuke-kun, you hardly ever talk to me," she remembered complaining one evening after dinner. He simply looked at her with disinterest.

"I'm serious Sasuke-kun, don't you think we should work on this if… if we're going to be happy?" She sucked on her lip with unease. She didn't find it difficult to confront anyone with her thoughts or feelings but with Sasuke it was different. She always worried over his responses, mostly because he was an impossible man to read.

After several moments of pause, Sasuke responded "Happy?" he scoffed. "Sakura. Marriage is a contract; we just have to fulfill our obligations in order for it to work." His eyes cast back down to the scroll he had been reading, satisfied with the finality of the conversation.

"Obligations?" she practically shrieked. "Sasuke-kun, there's more to marriage than obligations, surely you must know that—"

"You know perfectly well who you married Sakura" he cut her off abruptly, eyes still on the scroll in his hands.

Taken aback, she stared at him in partial shock. The lump in her throat started to swell as tears prickled the corners of her eyes. This felt unreal. Was he actually being serious? She didn't think someone could be so casual about marriage.

"I didn't know… I didn't think you would be like this!" She yelled angrily. "I thought you would… I thought you would…" _change. _She cast her eyes to the floor.

"You thought I'd actually love you?" She flinched at the harshness of his words. "I thought you of all people would understand that's impossible." He was scolding her like a child.

The floor screeched loudly as the chair Sasuke was sitting in scrapped against it. He stood swiftly and started to depart but stopped when the other occupant of the room silently spoke.

"Why then?" She breathed out, taking a step toward the back of his form. "Why did you marry me? You could've married someone else if it all means nothing to you!"

When he didn't say anything desperation started to take hold of her. She rushed toward him, "You must feel something for me if you asked me! You have to… you have to," she repeated, trying to convince herself that this marriage was not a complete sham.

Sakura grabbed his hand in hers, "Sasuke-kun!"

He yanked his hand out of her grasp as though the contact burned and turned his face to her with those cold, dark eyes of his.

"Don't read into it. I needed you."

"You needed me? For what…" Her voice came out weak. She honestly wasn't sure yet if this was still real. Her body felt numb and cold.

"Yes. I needed someone who held the respect of Konoha's citizens." She looked at him, dazed and with confusion written across her face.

Sasuke sighed, "I betrayed Konoha for more than three years, joined Akatsuki and held a certain partnership with Madara and Obito. Even if I helped save Konoha in the end, feelings of betrayal don't disappear that quickly unless you have something else to quell their insecurities."

A pregnant pause engulfed the two as Sasuke let the realization of his words sink in to Sakura's head.

"With you as my wife, people will never question my loyalties again. How can they, you are the Fifth's apprentice and the village hero's best friend. No other female holds more respect for being loyal to Konoha."

He cast his eyes over her form, "I need to cleanse the tainted image of the Uchiha name. That's why it had to be you."

And just like that, she was left alone in the kitchen with all her fantasies and dreams of married life shattered. Sakura collapsed to the floor and cried, the torrent of tears seemingly endless.

* * *

III.

When Sakura awoke, she found she'd been crying in her sleep. She wiped the offending liquid from her face with the back of her hand and sat up. If only she didn't cry so easily. It really was annoying.

Slowly she shuffled her way toward the kitchen. Glancing out one of the windows, she could tell it was almost midday from the high position of the sun. She just wanted to grab some food and spend the rest of the day in her warm, comfortable bed.

She abruptly stopped at the doorway to the kitchen, seeing her dark haired husband at the kitchen table over a bowl of rice and paperwork. Her thoughts of quietly sneaking back to her bedroom were dashed once he glanced up at her. He seemed to be evaluating her as if she were some kind of contestant and he the judge. It made her uncomfortable and she shifted from one foot to the other. Could he see that she'd been crying?

"Sit. There's some extra rice," he subtly gestured to a second bowl of rice on the table and went back to finishing his own bowl.

Awkwardly sitting in the chair across from him, she slowly started to eat. For the past two months, she tried her best to avoid Sasuke. Ever since she learned the real reason behind their marriage, she had even less of a clue how they were supposed to act around one another. Apparently she was merely a tool to him so the thought of engaging in casual chit-chat felt foreign and downright bizarre.

She started to shift uneasily in her chair, feeling his eyes upon her. Really, she just wanted to get far away from this place. It felt like he was boring holes into her and exposing her for the entire world to see. It made her skin prickle and the hairs on the back of her neck stand.

Unable to bear it any longer, she collected their dishes and started to stand. She'd just wash the dishes and get out of there.

"Thank you the meal" she refrained from eye contact and started to move away, only his hand quickly reached out and grabbed her elbow.

"Sasuke-kun," she looked up at his eyes, unable to look away. He truly was the most beautiful person she'd ever laid eyes on. He was so cold yet looking into those eyes still made her heart skip a beat, even if it was laced with the bitter pain of disappointment.

For a moment she was lost in his eyes, which carried such power. He could, quite literally, kill someone with a glance. It sent a shiver down her spine.

"It's Naruto's engagement party tonight. I trust you'll make yourself presentable for it." He gave her a look over before releasing her and continuing with whatever paperwork he had with him.

She stared down at him. The hurt swimming in her eyes. He'd all but spelled it out that he knew she'd been crying. Of course, if she'd bothered to look in the mirror when she got up she would've seen that her eyes were all red and puffy. Rather than ask her if she's alright or okay he tells her to put on a mask so that their friends remain under the illusion that this is an acceptable marriage.

What she wanted to do in that moment was smash the dishes on the floor and give him a good thrashing but this was Sasuke she was dealing with. Whether she wanted to or not, she couldn't stop loving him no matter how he treated her.

Instead, she started to wash the dishes and lightly nodded, "Of course, Sasuke-kun."

* * *

IV.

So, after applying several layers of makeup Sakura succeeded in erasing all evidence of her recent crying and arrived at the large dining hall for Naruto and Hinata's engagement party. The decorations were exquisite and the hall lined with tables for foreign dignitaries and, seemingly, half of Konoha. This was a wedding between a hero and a Hyuuga heiress. Of course it'd be a lavish affair!

Sakura showed up wearing a rather simple black dress that was form fitting until the hips, where it had a slight flare and a couple layers of lace to give an added puff. It ended at her knees and had thin spaghetti straps. Being a modest person, it covered most of her chest and only presented the slightest hint of cleavage. She wasn't a large chested person anyway, so she supposed either way she'd have little to reveal. Around her neck hung a silver necklace with a small, tear-shaped diamond. A gift from her parents. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail with some loose strands of hair remaining and her legs were covered with a pair of lovely black tights that had a faint floral pattern etched in them. The thought momentarily flashed through her mind that she was more dressed for a funeral than a party.

Sasuke, who'd been busy with best-man duties, had arrived before her, which she was more than a little thankful for.

"Sakura! It's about time you showed your face," the familiar voice of her blonde haired friend reached her ears.

She turned and smiled warmly at her, "don't worry Ino-pig, now that I'm here the party can finally start." She poked her tongue out and the two proceeded to laugh.

"Come on, let's go join the others," Ino pulled Sakura's arm and walked her over to where the rest of their friends stood talking.

They mingled amongst one another, telling jokes and laughing, and for the first time in a while Sakura found herself able to forget that she was in a loveless marriage.

"Man seriously, I still find it hard to believe that Naruto is actually getting married before me," Kiba complained loudly. "How is it that even possible" he tossed his arms up at a loss.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean," Naruto pouted and pointed a finger at Kiba, "who'd want to marry a guy with dog breath anyway," the blonde smirked.

"What did he just say?" The so-called dog-boy made to rush toward Naruto but Hinata stopped him.

"He's just joking Kiba, please forgive him," Hinata piped in apologetically.

"You have to admit though, it is a bit funny that we're standing here on this occasion when Naruto was the one who locked lips with Sasuke when we were genin," Choiji snickered as he took a big bite out of some grilled fish he acquired while at the buffet table.

"What was that fa—" Shikamaru quickly shoved a bread roll into Naruto's mouth.

"We certainly have come a long way from then," the genius signed to himself, "but Naruto's still as troublesome as always."

Sakura watched happily as the boys continued bickering amongst each other over tales of their youth. She looked over at Sasuke who was currently engaged in a heated discussion with Naruto over which of them made it further in the Chunnin exams.

She signed and muttered to herself, "yes, certainly have…"

"Yes, yes, forehead," Ino poked her forehead as she spoke, "who would've ever thought you'd end up with that tall, dark, handsome catch. If only you could've seen yourself now!"

"If only I could," she frowned slightly, still looking at Sasuke and Naruto.

"Can you believe that Naruto's finally settling down with Hinata though? I always thought he was too blind with love for you to even notice Hinata's feelings," the blonde woman laughed.

"Just think, if you gave up on Sasuke that could be you right now instead of her!"

Ino was too busy giggling and poking fun at what Sakura and Naruto babies would look like to notice the down-trodden expression now cast upon her pink-haired friend's face.

It's true, she thought to herself, if I had only been strong enough to give up on Sasuke my life could be different right now. She looked over at Naruto and Hinata, they were laughing so genuinely. They would lean in to one another and whisper in each other's ears; their eyes lit up when they saw each other, and looked at each other with such tenderness and caring that it made Sakura's stomach churn.

As she watched them together, her stomach started to feel hot. Not hot with warmth at their devotion to one another, but hot with envy. She suddenly felt angry. Like she wanted to break something.

The people around her started to chant 'kiss, kiss, kiss'. They wanted to see the young couple kiss. And she watched with her breath held as Naruto stared into Hinata's eyes, a smile on both their faces as he slowly leaned in and pressed his lips softly to hers. It killed her as their cheeks turned a slight tinge of pink, their young love still fresh and pure.

In that moment Sakura had all kinds of pictures flash through her mind. She imagined that as herself. If she had just given Naruto a chance, that would be her kissing him right now. That would be her with pink cheeks and breathlessly sighing into the crook of his neck as he held her like she was all he needed in the world.

Numbly, she thought of the saying 'it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.' She scoffed. It was ridiculous. Utter nonsense. It is better to have _been _loved. Maybe she could never feel the same type of love for Naruto as she did for Sasuke but at least she would be happy! She would've been wanted for more than just her reputation.

She had to force her eyes apart from the loving couple when the crowd started to hoot and clap in approval. Only, her eyes landed on the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

For the first time since she knew him, she stared into those empty charcoal eyes with a real sense of anger and betrayal. She still couldn't read anything in them but she was done being his prop!

She broke eye contact and grabbed Ino's arm, "come on, let's get drunk."

"Really? I thought Miss Prude didn't drink!" The blonde happily obliged as the two made their way over to the open bar.

The evening drew on and eventually the two girls lost count of how many drinks they'd had. Sakura vaguely thought she was going to regret this in the morning but at the moment she couldn't care less. She was happy and laughing wildly with her best friend.

"I have a—hiccup- joke for you, Sakuraaaa" Ino giggled as she took another gulp of her drink.

"Why did the tomato, uhh… turn red" she hiccupped once more.

"Umm," Sakura put her finger on her chin and tried to think. "I don't know!" She finally declared with a smile.

"Because… it saw the salad _dressing_!" The two broke out in hysterics. Honestly, anything could make them laugh at this point in time.

"You're so hiilllarious, Ino," she pat her friend on the back.

"What are you two laughing about?" Sakura looked back and saw Shikamaru.

"Ne, Ino, you're boyfriend Shika-channn is here," she wiped the tears of laughter out of her eyes.

Ino stumbled out of her chair and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Shika-chan, Shika-channn" she mumbled out.

"Ok, I think it's safe to say you two have had enough to drink," he wrapped Ino's arm around his shoulder to support her. "Let's get home… you're gonna be a real pain in the morning," Shikamaru let out an exasperated sign.

"Come on Sakura, Sasuke's probably looking for you," he reached out a hand for her but the sudden mention of Sasuke seemed to sober her up enough to walk on her own with only a few stumbles here and there. Sasuke looking for her? Yeah right, she rolled her eyes to herself.

Sakura glanced around the room and observed that most of the guests had left but most of the Rookie 9 was still hanging around.

"Shikaa, you're walking too fast," Ino whined against his shoulder. "Can't you just carry me like a real man!"

"Yeah yeah, we're just going to say goodbye to everyone," he waved her off as they approached the rest of the gang.

"Hey Shikamaru, maybe you'll be the next among us to get engaged!" Naruto grinned widely and winked.

"God I hope not," the genius rolled his eyes and everyone else laughed.

Quite abruptly, Sakura felt that familiar heat start to form in her stomach as she observed them. She looked to her left and saw Sasuke.

"I dunno, maybe the next one off the market will be Neji," another person joked.

Her eyes narrowed at him and she could see he'd started to walk towards her. Their eyes remaining unbroken.

"What about Choiji, does he have a special someone in his life?"

Her breathing grew heavier as Sasuke took hold of her shoulder and started to turn her in the direction of the door. Could he see that this marriage conversation was driving her mad? Probably.

"If Lee would train less, I could see him making it to the alter some day! But it'd have to be a girl with bushy eyebrows…"

Something in her snapped. Lee loved her at one time too! She could've been happy with any number of guys but instead she's stuck with this heartless bastard. She turned and glared at Sasuke before yanking herself away from him.

"Sakura," he went to grab her and she could tell from his voice that his patience was running on empty but all she could think about was her own misery in this room full of celebration.

"I have to make a toast!" Sakura boasted loudly, while walking quite ungracefully towards her best friend. She put a hand on his shoulder and took the wine glass out of his hand.

Slowly, she took a sip and ignored Sasuke's glare on her back. "I… always wanted you to be happy, and now I see that you are and have found yourself the perfect woman to stand at your side," she smiled softly and momentarily basked in the glow of his giant grin.

"Thanks Sak—" she held a finger up to his lips to stop him from talking.

"But you know," she frowned and leaned in, "if you want to be truly happy, you shouldn't get married in the first place!" Her tone was like that of a child explaining something recently discovered in the most matter-of-factly way. She liked the way he didn't push her away when she leaned in, she could feel his warmth radiating throughout her body. It was addicting.

She watched as Naruto's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "But you and Sasuke—"

"Marriage is just a contractual obligation between two people who are otherwise completely useless to each other, marriage is nothing but a—"

She gasped as she felt two large arms wrap around her waist, encircling her torso.

"Sakura," Sasuke breathed out deeply, his head in the crook of her neck and his body pressed tightly against her back. She could feel his breath fanning across her neck and became aware that she'd forgotten how to breathe.

"Forgive us Naruto," he drawled out, "it seems my, dear, Sakura has had too much to drink." Sakura felt his grip tighten around her before he slowly took the glass of wine from her fingers and passed it back to Naruto.

"We'll be taking our leave now and," he paused. "We wish you a _long_ and happy marriage." She noticed how he emphasized the word long and even in her hazy mind, was vaguely aware that he wasn't really talking to Naruto at all but the blonde nodded and smiled. All is forgiven amongst friends.

"Come, Sakura." His voice sounded dangerous in her ears but apparently no one else noticed. He stood back and took hold of her hand rather tightly. As he tugged her out of the hall, every fiber in her being screamed at her that the last place she should go is somewhere alone, with him.

She could see the door to the exit quickly approaching. If only her mind wasn't so clouded by alcohol, she could use that big head of hers to think of something to say!

"I… wait…" she feebly pulled on her hand and stopped walking but Sasuke was through waiting. He yanked her harshly so that she roughly collided into him. Her head implanted against his chest, her arms on either side of him, her legs, bent and supported only by his own.

Sakura sucked in a shaky breath, breathing in his masculine scent, and slowly looked up at Sasuke. She didn't want to but something compelled her head to move on its own, and when she did look into those eyes, her blood ran cold. Staring back at her was not the charcoal eyes she'd grown accustomed too. She saw red. Red sharingan staring back at her.

If she could run, she probably would but her body rebelled against her. She froze. Like a deer in the headlights. She hadn't seen those eyes directed at her in a long time.

"Sas… uke-kun," she breathed out weakly.

"It seems, my dear Sakura is unable to walk," he spoke as though it was a mere observation yet his eyes revealed anger. Her body shook involuntarily. She should apologize, beg for forgiveness but her mouth refused to open. Instead she gaped at him as he leaned down so their faces were only inches apart and lifted her helpless form into his arms. With that, he took off for the Uchiha compound and all Sakura could think was… _I am in deep shit. _

* * *

V.

Sakura released an unrefined grunt as Sasuke dropped her abruptly onto a bed. She rubbed her eyes, trying to make out her surroundings. Since the room remained unlit, it took her eyes about a minute to adjust before she realized they were in her own room.

Sasuke backed up to stand several feet away, midway between the bed and the doorframe. It was quite intimidating to see his blood red eyes outlined in the darkness. It somehow made them even more sinister.

She gulped. "Sasuke-kun look, I… I made a mistake," she started to speak dejectedly.

"No. Perhaps I made a mistake," his eyes narrowed. "I didn't realize you needed me to spell out for you how a proper Uchiha is supposed to behave in public," he bit out roughly.

Flinching at his words, Sakura stared blankly at her lap.

"Do you think I couldn't see how you looked at _him_? Anyone could see it if they were looking. And then you go off and get yourself drunk." His voice rang with disgust in her ears.

"I'm sorry," she breathed out.

"I've hardly asked anything of you but you can't even present yourself as respectable at your best friend's engagement party," his voice returned to indifference.

Immediately anger reignited in her gut. She conceded that she drank too much at the party and allowed her feelings to get out of hand but what he was saying was unreasonable!

"You've hardly asked anything of me?" She scoffed, "You used me! You only married me because it was convenient for you. What do I get out of this, I get loneliness and misery!" she was almost screaming now as the tide of her emotions ebbed their way to the surface.

"I'm tired of living like this. It's like I don't even know you!" Sakura breathed deeply, trying to settle her raging heart yet she continued because she wasn't done yet.

"Find someone else to be your pawn, I'm tired of pretending to everyone that my marriage isn't a sham! I'm tired of being alone." She angrily wiped a tear from her face and fisted her hands into the sheets beneath her. She just needed some time to breathe.

Faintly, she could make out a small smirk on his face as he walked to the bed, grabbing her chin with his fingers harshly and leaning in close. "Sakura, Sakura," he tsk'd as if she were a child.

"I didn't trick you into marrying me. You said yes all on your own," she noted how his eyes narrowed.

"I've given you what you wanted. I've given myself to you like you always wanted. If you had delusions on what married life would turn out to be, that was your own fault."

It was true. She was a fool to assume he would change, but who could blame her! She didn't realize everything she wanted was just an illusion.

"Don't forget that you were the one who promised to make _me _happy." Her eyes snapped shut as she remembered the evening he left Konoha. _If you and I were together… I swear I won't let you regret it! _The words rang through her skull and she couldn't help but shake her head in defeat.

"Well then," she put her hands on his chest and gave a slight push to put some distance between them, "If I am such a disappointment to you, why don't you just divorce me and be done with this."

"Do you really think it would be that easy," she heard the amusement in his voice as his forehead rested against hers in mock comfort.

He placed one of his hands on her shoulder and slowly pushed her down on the bed, his body now hovering above hers. Their proximity, it was almost as if… Sakura released a gasp. No. He already made it clear he didn't love her so it was dangerous to entertain such thoughts.

His lips came to rest along the lobe of her ear. His hot breath ghosted against her skin and her heart thumped erratically against her chest. It was unbelievable that he could still affect her this way.

"You know very well that Uchiha's fail at nothing," he spoke softly into her ear, as if he were whispering loving affections. His hand from her shoulder came to caress her cheek.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open again, "Sasuke-kun," she murmured with uncertainty. She was starting to feel light-headed but wasn't sure whether it was the significant consumption of alcohol she'd consumed that evening or the close proximity to Sasuke. Definitely the latter, she thought.

His lips moved up to hers. They were mere millimeters apart. All she had to do was tilt her head in the slightest direction upwards and their lips would touch. Her fists tightened against his chest, stuck on whether to push him away or draw him nearer. She searched his eyes for something, anything, that would tell her there was a special place for her in them, because surely this closeness had to mean something.

The two of them lay there, engulfed in each other's warmth for what felt like eternity before she became aware that his lips were moving above her. Vaguely, Sakura realized he was speaking.

"There will be consequences for your behavior tonight," he whispered stoically. Her eyebrows furrowed. Really, did he expect her to make sense of what he was saying when the two of them were this close. She just wanted to concentrate on their breaths mingling and those lips of his.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she made up the decision to kiss him. Who cares if he was whispering threats to her, she just needed to be close to him… needed to be connected to him somehow. Slowly, she stated to tilt her head upwards, she was so close, all she needed to do was…

Quite suddenly, he gave one final rough caress before his body withdrew from hers. The heat quickly dissipating from her lithe body. _Please don't go_, she thought as her arms fell limply to her sides.

Sasuke stepped away from the bed, casting one last look at her before effortlessly making his way to the door. Momentarily, he paused at the doorframe, "make sure you get some sleep."

Just like that he left her.

Slowly, Sakura brought her fingers up to her lips, tracing them back and forth. They'd been so close she could almost feel them. She shut her eyes. What would people think if they knew she'd had sex but never been kissed? She contemplated this as she dozed off into a heavy slumber.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well, this is a bit embarrassing. First fic so please forgive me if it's complete garbage! I really wanted to start with a one shot for my first time because I don't know if I have the motivation to continue, but as I was writing I couldn't stop and it became quite long... Will have to continue with a second chapter, I guess? I didn't really go in the direction I wanted it to =_=;;

I apologize if there's a lot of typos! Also, when I first uploaded none of my original line breaks between new 'sections' appeared so yeah... probably pretty confusing for the first few people who read this lol. It sort of leaps all over the place; I hope readers can follow it. Please review?


	2. Consequences

**Author's Notes: **Thought I should probably try to work on this as much as possible while I have the energy/motivation to do so. I've already made it further than I ever thought I could. I still have a lot of ideas for this fic but I hope I can wrap it up in a couple more chapters hnnggg.

I'd appreciate any reviews! And again, I apologize if there's any annoying typos~ I'm upping the rating to M because I'm pretty sure it's headed there *winkwink*

* * *

**Heart's Desire**

**Chapter II**

I.

It had been a week since Naruto's engagement party and Sakura hadn't seen Sasuke since. On a mission, she presumed. It didn't bother her much though, she preferred dealing without the uncomfortable exchanges and it was difficult to be in the same room with him without having to fight down the tears and anger. Perhaps worse was that she still wanted to him to embrace her and tell her that he loves her. Or at least say he likes her! She was so frustrated with herself. How could her mind still cling to such fantasies when everything pointed to the impossibility of that outcome? She really was hopeless.

Sakura sighed in frustration as she packed up her medical equipment. Thankfully, her work at the hospital afforded her the chance to escape her present reality with the constant flow of patients requiring her attention and care. She was also lucky enough to have a job where her friends were frequently present since it gave her plenty of gossip to listen to. Though, there were days like today where a certain blonde haired woman was a bit much to handle.

"No really Sakura, that patient who came in earlier definitely had the hots for you! You should've seen him drooling as you walked down the hall," Ino leaned in and gave her a wink.

"Ok Ino. He had a collapsed lung with a fractured rib and you're telling me he had the time to stop and stare," Sakura rolled her eyes.

"What, some guys just know what they want," Ino exclaimed with certainty. "Maybe you would've learned that if you didn't settle down with the first guy who asked you out." _Burn_.

"Right, because you're so much more experienced than me," Sakura slung her bag over her shoulders and flicked off the light in her office. She was always one of the last to leave the hospital because she liked to do routine checks on all of her patients before she left for the evening.

Ino slapped her arm in jest, "hey! I'm more experienced than you."

"Come on, let's get out of here," Sakura shook her head as the two girls proceeded to exit the building.

The streetlights already lit the road when they made it outside. Ino's apartment was actually quite near to the hospital, only a five-minute walk, whereas Sakura practically had to walk all the way across town to make it to the sparsely lit Uchiha compound. She didn't mind though, it always gave her time to collect her thoughts and have a moment's peace from her busy day at work.

Sakura breathed in the fresh air deeply. It was a peaceful night, but a subtle chill was present in the breeze. She couldn't help but rub her arms as she shivered slightly.

"You know Sakura, I always wondered," the blond smirked mischievously as she leaned in, "how's Sasuke in bed?"

Immediately choking on her saliva, Sakura coughed as she turned to her friend with wide eyes and ten shades of red plastered across her face, "Ino!" She yelled in shock.

"Aw come on, you can kiss and tell with me. I won't tell anybody," she pouted.

"N-no! You're… not supposed to ask questions like that," Sakura quickly crossed her arms and turned her head in the opposite direction of the other's view.

"Is it really that bad? Maybe I could give you some tips or get Shikamaru to talk to—"

"Ino! I-It's nothing like that. It's… great!" She huffed while tugging on the edge of her shirt. She couldn't very well tell Ino that she had only ever been with Sasuke that way on her wedding night… and that she was fairly certain he had been moderately intoxicated when it happened. A pang of hurt formed in her gut; did he really find her that unpleasing to look at? She felt the regret start to creep its way up to her face. How long could she go on like this. She needed to share her feelings with someone other than an emotionally stunted Sasuke.

Sakura swallowed and took another deep breath; she was going to release herself from this burden of secrecy. "Look Ino… Sasuke-kun and I… well, you see—"

"Oh my God, is that really the time!" Ino was looking over at a clock in a shop window, "I told Shikamaru I'd meet him an hour ago," she started to turn down the street to her apartment. "Tell me all the gritty details at work on Monday!" Ino waved and began running in the direction of her apartment, leaving a disheartened Sakura in her wake.

"Really Ino?" Sakura muttered to herself and pursed her lips. Ino was actually an incredibly wise person and great best friend, but sometimes even she had to wonder.

She continued walking briskly in the direction of her home. To be honest, it didn't really feel like _her _home since she'd done so little to leave her mark in it. Every time she walked in, it still felt foreign and as something that didn't quite belong to her. Somehow, she couldn't quite picture Sasuke being alright with her painting her room a light shade of pink or leaving small heart shaped post-it notes on the fridge with daily reminders. It could be interesting to try sometime though.

Making her way up the wooden stairs that led to the front door, she reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out the key. Her stomach started to grumble with the thought of dinner close at hand. She was bad at remembering to eat at work since she often found herself too busy for breaks. Inserting the key, she slowly turned and pushed open the door.

The first thing she noticed upon entry was a pair of neatly placed black sandals that belonged to Sasuke. Her stomach momentarily dropped but then she remember how he usually went to sleep early after arriving home from missions. Comforted by this thought, she slipped out of her shoes and started to make her way towards the kitchen. Quietly as possible, she pulled out some leftovers from the night before and ate her stir-fry dinner with minimal lighting over the kitchen counter. The last thing she needed was a tired, grumpy Sasuke breathing down her neck.

_There will be consequences… _her mind wandered to what transpired between the two of them just one week ago. What did he mean by that? Was he going to send him to her room like a child? She scoffed and laughed to herself. _I'd like to see him try! _

She washed the dishes and then proceeded to make her way down the hall with every intention to slip into her pajamas and drift into dream world. By now, she knew exactly which floorboards to walk on in order to avoid sending the loud creaking noise reverberating throughout the house. As she reached the door to her room, she made it halfway past the doorframe before a faint flicker caught her eye. Abruptly she froze. Turning her head to the far end of the corridor, she could see the door to Sasuke's room cracked open and the faint flickering of light from a lit candle dancing on the floor. She wanted to ignore it. To step pass the threshold into her room and shut the door behind her, but something tugged her back. It was as if invisible chakra strings were attached to her limbs and dragging her towards Sasuke's door. Before she was even aware that she was moving, she stood at his door. Her heart beat, echoing in her eardrums and her deep breaths tickling her throat.

Again, her body moved on its own as she lifted her hand to the door. She could feel the grains of wood against her fingertips. It was like the door had its own life force because she could feel her finger tips start to tingle and numbness travel to the rest of her body. She stood there for several minutes, unsure of what to do. Her mind desperately wanted to turn back and slip under her warm bed sheets, but her body remained paralyzed in place. The butterflies in her stomach beat wildly against her gut. Was she terrified or excited? She couldn't tell.

Sakura shut her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself. Something inside her had to know what was behind the door. As softly as she could, she pushed the door open a little, just enough to peer in. The first thing she saw was a large bed in the middle of the room. Her eyes travelled from the bottom of the bed to the top where she could see Sasuke's prone body. He seemed to be asleep for he did not move or acknowledge her prying eyes whatsoever. Without a second thought, she nudged the door further and stepped inside, past the invisible barrier and into the lion's den.

Her eyes quickly took note of the room. Even though she lived in this large house, she rarely extended her explorations past her own room, and Sasuke's door was always shut. He'd never told her she wasn't allowed in, but it seemed to be an unspoken rule that his space was his and hers was hers. Their lives were intertwined and at the same time separate.

His room was just as compulsively neat as she'd always imagined. A bookshelf stood in the corner with each book in its proper place; his clothes were packed away in a large wardrobe; and a desk with neatly lain and recently sharpened weapons stood against a window on the opposite side of the room. Her eyes recognized a distinct sword that Sasuke always had with him during missions. How many men and women had he pierced through with that sword? Had circumstances been different in the past, she could easily have died by its unforgiving blade. The thought made her release a shaky breath.

Turning her head elsewhere, Sakura saw a candle on a bedside table. The wax had mostly melted onto the small metal stand the candle rested on and the wick was near the end of its lifetime. He must've dozed off without blowing it out. She slowly crept closer, being careful not to make a sound. It would be difficult to explain why she was standing over him if he suddenly woke up.

As she reached his bedside, she took the time to observe him carefully. There was a light sheen of sweat covering his forehead and his brows seemed to be drawn together in pain or worry, Sakura wasn't really too sure. His breathing was uneven and harsh. He appeared to be having a bad dream. Of what, she could only guess since he had his fair share of demons. His sleep tousled hair clung slightly to his face. One piece in particular caught her attention as it stretched across his forehead and over part of his left eye. Cautiously, she reached to sweep it aside. Even in the midst of a nightmare, his beauty was unmatched.

Just as her finger ghosted above his forehead, his hand snapped up and grabbed hold of her wrist in a tight grip. Releasing a startled gasp, she made to pull back. Her heart felt as though it was about to leap out of her chest, but then she looked down once more and realized his eyes were still shut. He was still sleeping! She breathed a sigh of relief. Her entire body was tense from the action.

Sakura couldn't help but shake her head. Sasuke has always been so alert, even for a ninja, and it would seem his senses remained activated even when his mind was asleep. Using her other hand to pry his fingers from her wrist, she then brushed the strands of hair to the side of his face. She leaned in a little closer as her eyes travelled slowly from his hairline, to his lashes, down the curve of his nose, and finally rested on his lips. They were parted slightly but still moist. Those lips, which eluded her all these years, were only inches out of her grasp now.

Slowly, slowly she inched her way closer, never once breaking eye contact with them. When she was scarcely a centimeter apart from them she paused, looking up at his closed eyes, scrunched together because of whatever nightmare he was currently in. She relished in the feel of his hot breath against hers. This was it. She was going to take what was hers. Why shouldn't she? She is his wife, she deserves a kiss. It was her right! She pressed her lips against his. It was a chaste kiss but she finally knew what it felt like. His lips were warm and softer than she imagined. They didn't move beneath hers but when she pulled away, she heard him release a long sigh. It was as if a weight lifted from his chest and his face relaxed into its usual stoic expression.

Her body swelled with warmth as she started to stand upright. Maybe, just maybe she had done something to quell the anguish that had been plaguing him in his dream. Not wanting to push her luck any further, she softly blew out the candle and made her escape as quietly as she entered. The door softly clicked shut and she hurriedly made her way into her room.

That night, she fell asleep with a smile for the first time in a long while.

* * *

II.

The next morning, Sakura found herself humming softly as she happily took bites out of a peach she decided to eat for breakfast. She woke up in a better mood than ever. On some level she knew it was silly to be so happy over a kiss that Sasuke wasn't even conscious for, but that didn't stop her from quietly celebrating the victory with herself. She lifted a cup filled with hot tea to her lips and took a sip. It was a Saturday so she didn't really have any plans for the day other than to train and, possibly, stop by Tsunade's office to inquire about any upcoming missions.

She took another bite of her peach, letting the juices soak in her mouth before she swallowed and hummed in approval. As she finished, she reached for another one from the basket sitting on the centre of the table. At the same time her hand encircled another peach, she became aware of a familiar chakra presence making its way into the kitchen. She looked up and saw Sasuke reaching for a glass to get himself a cup of water. Giving him a quick once over, she could see the familiar signs of recent training marring his body; his arms and face had a few fresh scrapes along with smudges of dirt and grass stains. Sasuke had never known what it felt like to put a half-assed amount of effort into training. When he trained, he went all out. He was wearing his usual navy blue pants with his shins and ankles bound tightly in bandages to prevent the material from interfering with leg movement. His upper body was covered by an off-white, loose fitting t-shirt that zipped up to his breast plant, leaving part of his chest and collar bones exposed. The shirt had a high collar that framed either side of his face, as well as the all too familiar Uchiha symbol on the back that marked most of his clothes.

"Would you like a peach?" she asks in a sing-song voice. Waiting for a response, she brought the peach up to her lips and rubbed the soft peach fuzz against them before taking a bite.

After a good ten seconds passed without him acknowledging her question, she replied for him, refusing to let his lack of response ruin her good mood.

"Ah yes, you never really did enjoy sweet things," she smiles.

"How was training?"

"Fine," was his curt reply. He glanced at her through the corner of his eyes as he downed the entire glass of water. Turning around he rested his hands against the edge of the counter and leaned against it.

"You always push yourself so hard." Unconsciously her eyes got stuck on his lips as she chewed on her peach with a bit less interest now. She could always trust in certain, very few, subjects to turn to in order to get a few words out of him.

"Make sure you don't go overboard, you just got back from a mission," her tone held a hint of worry. If he didn't watch himself, he could wind up in the hospital.

But, her worry fell on deaf ears because his eyes only narrowed at her and he hissed out rather harshly, "The thought of being weak is more repulsive to me than any type of injury."

His eyes seemed to be accusing her of something but she didn't really want to know of what. That light and bubbly feeling she woke up to suddenly started to dissipate under his shadow. It would be a good idea to leave before she unknowingly provoked any more insults out of him.

"Well, I guess I should be off now… I want to stop by Tsunade-sama's office." Sakura pushed her chair back to get out from under the table and brushed the invisible dust from her tan skirt. Just as she was about to stand, she felt the weight of a hand on her shoulder, keeping her from getting up. She glared up at Sasuke, silently demanding he release her but he met her glare with equal intensity.

The two held each other's gaze for several seconds before Sasuke boredly plopped an envelope on the table spot in front of her and stepped back. She turned her head and looked at it. At first she was mystified by what it could be but then the shrill thought passed through her that perhaps, he was serving her divorce papers? Her eyes widened and her entire body felt frozen in place. Was this the so-called consequence he'd threatened her with? But wait, her body relaxed a little, this could be a good thing. She'd be able to start fresh and pursue her own happiness. Maybe one day in the future she and Sasuke could look back on their failed marriage together and laugh.

As if reading her thoughts, Sasuke started to speak.

"It's your new hours at the hospital" he spoke indifferently.

New hours? Confusion flashed across her face.

"After my mission yesterday, I asked Tsunade to cut back your hours."

"What?" her head snapped up to look at him. He merely nodded his head at the envelope, urging her to look at its contents.

She grabbed the envelope and quickly pulled out the sheet of paper inside. Her eyes darting back and forth across the page as she read. A few seconds into reading it, she noticed that her hands were shaking a little. Was this for real? She was being cut from a 40+ hour work week to a measly ten hours, one day of the week.

"What the fuck is this?" she bit out, hoping he might spontaneously combust under her heated glare.

"I told you there would be consequences," his head tilts sideways a little, as if he were explaining the most obvious thing in the world.

"Consequences? What the hell!" She slams her fist with the sheet of paper against the table. "You can't do something like this," she stood and started marching right for the door so that she could go demand that Tsunade rectify her schedule.

Sasuke was hot on her trail, however. She turned around to face him, her finger now pointing right in front of his face, "I won't let you take this from me," she threatens. The hospital had been her sanctuary for years. Ever since she learned she possessed some talent for medical ninjutsu, the hospital became like a second home to her. There was no possible way she could maintain her sanity if she had to stay pent up in this godforsaken house all day. Once again she gave Sasuke a nice view of her back as her fingers curled around the door handle and she began to turn.

Just as she finished turning the knob fully, she was roughly spun around and shoved against the wooden door. A gasp escaped her lips and faint stars clouded her vision. Squinting to see properly again, she was greeted by Sasuke's blank face. She squirmed a little to break free but his hands were firmly implanted on both of her shoulders, preventing her from moving much or even having full control over her arms.

"You have no control over this, Sakura," his tone was even and betrayed no emotions.

"I've requested that Tsunade relieve you of most duties so that you may deal with the…" he paused, "stresses of married life."

"This is a joke!" She spit out, and again made to release herself but to no avail. "Go _untell_ her," she ground out.

"I won't. Not until you prove yourself capable as a wife." For a split second she swore she saw his eyes darken before they reverted back to their usual emptiness.

Never one to give in easily, Sakura continued the argument with little regard for her compromised position.

"I'm not a child Sasuke," she dropped the usual suffix, "you can't just ground me and expect me to obey. It doesn't work like that."

For a minute all he did was stare at her with a distant expression and she started to think he was consigning himself to defeat under the logic of her argument. It was silly of him to think he could control that aspect of her life without her permission. He had to know better than that.

She watches as one of his arms drops to his side and remains immobile there. She takes this as a sign that their 'conversation' is over and she raises her released arm to his chest and gives a shove to push him back. She has to undue what he's done. The other hand on her shoulder weakens its grip as he's forced to take a half-step backward.

She starts to turn but the subtle movement seems to snap her male counterpart out of whatever state of mind he had just been in, because his hand slaps back down on her shoulder with conviction and presses her more firmly against the door.

Sakura winces at the action, his fingers digging uncomfortably into her shoulder and again she goes to push him back. This time she laces some chakra into her hand to add more force but he grabs her wrist and slams it above her head.

"Sasuke-kun, you're hurting me," she pushes her body against his but the action causes him to tighten his grip even more. Another whimper escapes her lips, all of the rage she felt a minute earlier quickly disappearing and being replaced with a deep sense of uneasiness.

Her green eyes look up at him, and with pleading eyes she asks, "Sasuke-kun, please. Let me go." There's something not right with his eyes. They're usually filled with coldness and uncaring, but now there's a distance in them, as if he's far removed from the situation.

She opens her mouth to speak again, to break him out of whatever trance he's in but is stopped when she feels his hand around her wrist begin to descend downward. It slides down past her forearm and elbow, it continues past her shoulder and then snakes around her neck. He does nothing but rest it there, and she's too shocked to move or do anything except try to level her breathing. It's now that she notices how close he is. His chest is against hers and she can feel his steady heart beat against her rapid one.

Without warning his fingers twitch a little. The action spurs him on and he begins to tighten his hold around her neck, making it more difficult, but not impossible, for her to breath. Tears gather in her eyes and Sakura, feeling more like a child than ever, starts with renewed vigor to struggle against her captor. She beats her free hand against him and tries to knee him but all her attempts have no effect.

"Sasuke-kun!" she yells again with what little breath she still has and he stops squeezing.

"Remember," he whispers dangerously in front of her, "You're the one who made me do this." She notices now that there's a familiar tomoe swirling in his, now, red eyes.

Before she can even register to close her eyes, Sakura finds herself swirling in a world that is not her own. She's still in the same house but the colours are distorted and out of place. Feeling nauseous she keels over and rapidly coughs up everything she ate for breakfast. Sasuke is not in her line of sight but without having to look she can tell he is standing behind her.

_Mangekyou Sharingan? _She suddenly thinks as the world before her starts to turn black. She can't see a thing and starts to panic while coughing uncontrollably. An odd feeling starts to creep over her body, leaving her cold and desolate. Just as she starts to wonder if she's ceased to exist she feels Sasuke's hot breath next to her ear. It's the only thing that tells her she's still alive.

"_I'll take it all away._" His voice echoes in the vast emptiness, repeating itself over and over again until she thinks she might actually be losing it. Then, nothing.

Sakura's body slumps against the wall as the dark haired ninja catches his breath. He takes a step back. Without his support the body crumbles to the floor, her pink haired tresses scattered across her face. The girl is unconscious and completely at his mercy.


	3. A Friend

**Author's Notes: **Finally getting this up. It took a while to write because I have so many ideas for other fics v;; A bit of a short chapter. I hope that the next chapter will be much more exciting.

Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed so far! I probably would've lost motivation to continue if I didn't get them u 3 u

* * *

**Chapter III**

I.

The first thing Sakura became aware of was that her body was resting on something soft and comfortable. Her head felt cocooned in the feathery embrace of a pillow. Then her other senses slowly started coming back to life, and it felt like she was buried under the weight of a thousand bricks. She could tell it was nighttime even with her eyes closed because of the constant screaming of crickets ringing through her ears. She tried to raise her arm to wipe a bead of sweat she could feel clinging to her forehead but to no avail. Her entire body felt weak, like she'd just run non-stop for an entire day. The slightest movement of her finger had her muscles screaming in protest.

Her mind started to click into gear as she pieced together the details of recent events. First she was talking to Sasuke in the kitchen, then there was an argument, then she saw red and everything turned black. Her breathing stopped as it dawned upon her that Sasuke had captured her in some kind of twisted mind warp. She couldn't remember anything specific about it but she didn't think she'd been physically tortured like Kakashi had when trapped in Itachi's mangekyou sharingan.

Her eyebrows furrowed together as she tried desperately to remember what happened. She remembered something, a threat? Sasuke. He said something to her, didn't he? It was there, in the edge of her consciousness she just had to… wait. He said he would take something away from her. That's right. It reverberated off every wall and sunk into her very core like a cold blade of metal. She remembered seeing Ino, Naruto and all of her friends. They were talking to each other and laughing. She approached them and started talking; screaming at them to pay attention, but they all ignored her and turned their backs to her as if she didn't even exist. She reached out to grab Naruto, force him to listen to her but instead her fingers slipped through him like water. They couldn't see her? Then she was left all alone. She cried and cried, and still, no one even noticed.

She shivers at the recollection. The reality of mangekyou sharingan was too vivid and real. She would rather be pierced with a thousand blades than end up in the solitary world created by Sasuke's eyes.

Releasing a shaky breath, she tries to will herself not to submit to the utterly desolate feeling she feels, knowing that even she is not safe from Sasuke's sharingan.

For several minutes, the pink haired female lay immobilized on the bed, silently fighting the urge to cry. Then, she hears the faint rustling sound of clothes. It makes her breathing stop all together. She wasn't alone. She decides to pretend to be asleep and wait for the other occupant to leave.

Her plan is short-lived.

"I know you're awake, Sakura." Sasuke's stoic voice cuts through the room. It makes her flinch, much to her chagrin.

With more force than should be necessary, she manages to lift her heavy eyelids. She has to blink several times to get her eyes to adjust. The room was dark but a small lamp was lit on the bedside table. She couldn't look at Sasuke. His mere presence in the room made her hairs stick up in fear. She never thought he would turn his eyes on her. She knew he was dangerous, but now he was unpredictable too.

She wants to glare at him but is too afraid to so she settles for turning her head in the opposite direction of his voice and glaring at the wall instead. He sighs in annoyance and she then hears a scraping sound to which she can only attribute to the sound of a chair being dragged closer to the bed.

"I trust you've learned your lesson." The statement stings. He was treating her like his inferior.

When she doesn't move to acknowledge he brings his hand up to her shoulder and takes a lock of her hair between his fingers. The silence stretches on between them as he runs his fingers along her soft strands of pink hair, occasionally twirling it around his finger.

Finally, his fingers remain motionless in her hair as he speaks. "You didn't give me any other options," his voice is calm and mixed with an emotion she can't quite determine. Her fist clenches a little at her sides, but only very faintly because her body is too weak for any real force to be exhumed.

Internally she scoffs a little. No other options? A normal person doesn't resort to mind torture to win an argument. She feels a pang of hurt rise in her chest. A normal person doesn't ask you to marry them because you're a means to an end. The lump in her throat starts to swell and she feels the familiar build up of tears start to collect in her eyes. A normal person wouldn't marry Uchiha Sasuke! She hates herself for being so weak willed. She's no better than all the fangirls that chase after him.

In that moment the tears start to fall freely and she hates herself even more because her entire existence is a joke. She's the biggest idiot of all, she's weak and pathetic. And, with bags under her eyes, pale skin and tears rolling down her face, she's anything but beautiful.

A weak sob escapes her lips. She doesn't want him to take away her friends, they're the only things that make her happy these days. She needs them. Without them, she doesn't even want to be alive.

Sasuke's hand leaves her pink tresses and makes its way around to the side of her cheek that is furthest from him.

"Look at me." He turns her face to him but she denies him by closing her eyes tightly. How can she ever look at him again?

"Sakura," he commands this time. She makes no move to obey for several seconds, but at last, she decides that she's scared and too tired to lift a single finger. All she wants is to go back to sleep. She makes up her mind. Slowly, she opens her eyes because she is helpless to obey.

She sniffs a little.

How disappointed would people be if they saw her now?

Weary sea foam eyes meet onyx. She feels like she's staring into the eyes of a stranger and cowers slightly at the presence of his hand still against her cheek. He continues to gaze at her with unreadable eyes and a tight jaw.

"It doesn't have to be this way," his voice cuts through the silence like a knife through butter.

It occurs to her that for the first time ever, she's repulsed by his touch. Yes, she's been uncomfortable around him in the past, but only ever in the way that she was unsure of how to fill in the stretches of awkward silence between them or worrying about how he will judge her opinions. She's never _not _wanted him to hold her, because in her mind, physical touch between husband and wife was always synonymous with affection. As is regularly becoming the case, however, she's learning that it's not the case with Sasuke.

"If you would just learn to control your emotions, we could avoid these…" he pauses, and briefly closes his before continuing, "mishaps of yours." He wipes away one of her tears with his thumb before withdrawing his hand and straightening himself in the chair at her side.

Without a word or look of acknowledgement, she turns her head to stare up at the ceiling, trying with all her abilities to pretend he's not in the room. She just wants to sleep but her body refuses to relax; each nerve ending stands on edge in preparation for her fight or flight instincts to kick in with the slightest hint of attack from the man sitting next to her.

Finally, her body's demand for rest is too great and she speaks.

"I would like to sleep now. You may leave," her voice is barely above a whisper and cracks with the weight of a heavy burden.

She's aware of him standing through her peripheral vision, but misses the way he slightly hesitates before exiting the room. She's already asleep by the time he reaches the doorframe.

II.

The next three days blurred by, filled mainly with sleep and shuffling into the kitchen for food at odd hours; hours she knows ensure the absence of _him_. It was quite relaxing, but like everything, all good things come to an end.

Her eyes scan the shelves of the fridge for the umpteenth time that morning in search for food. All she comes up with is a few pieces of bread and a softening tomato, neither of which her stomach finds appealing.

Sighing, she closes the fridge and leans against the counter top. Looks like she'll actually have to get dressed and leave the house. _What a drag. _As her shoulders sag, she looks down and notices a small white piece of paper with writing scribbled on it. She lifts it up, examining it closer and reads Sasuke's neat handwriting:

_Dinner tonight with Naruto and Hinata. Be ready by 6 pm. Sasuke. _

Scowling, she quickly proceeds to toss the paper in the garbage and marches off to her room in a huff.

"The nerve of that man," she grumbles to herself while throwing open her closet doors to find something to wear. Angrily, she starts yanking aside hangers and tossing aside outfit after outfit.

"First he treats me like shit, then he expects me to go out for dinner at the drop of a hat!"

Her eyes land on a navy blue kimono with a light blue and silver sequence on it. The material is silky soft and obviously expensive. She takes it out and tosses it on her bed before continuing to rummage through her closet for a pair of shoes that go with it. Just as she reaches down for a pair of sandals, a glimpse of red material catches her attention. Standing up, she pulls aside the hangers of clothes to reveal another luxurious kimono. This one is a deep red, with pink sakura petals sewn in and occasional gold waves that represent the setting sun. She takes it out, admiring its beauty, before casually setting it aside with the other kimono on the bed.

She'll decide which one to wear later. Right now, she just wants to eat and get out of this house, otherwise she'll have to sit around on edge all day waiting for Sasuke to return.

By the time she's dressed and making her way out the door, it's already past 11. Leaving the Uchiha compound and making it into town is like re-entering civilization. All the action in the streets, the people smiling and waving hello to her… it was refreshing. It reminded her that to these people, she is not simply 'the wife of Uchiha Sasuke' she is Haruno Sakura. The thought makes her smile.

"It's been a while since I saw that smile," the amused voice of her former sensei reaches her ears.

"Kakashi-sensei," she smiles even more brightly and rushes over to stand with him at the side of the road. "It's been so long since I last saw you, is your head still stuck in those perverted books?" In a childish gesture, she pokes her tongue out and elbows him in the side.

"Ah. If you wanted to borrow a copy Sakura-chan, all you had to do was ask," he winks and leans in, holding his hand over his mouth as he whispers into her ear, "I'm sure even Sasuke would learn a thing or two from them."

"Sensei!" She slaps his arm and turns her head in an effort to hide her blushing face.

The older man lets out a low chuckle, amused by his student's reaction.

"Anyways, what are you up to today?" He turns to continue walking down the street, watching her through the corner of his eye as she follows.

"Oh, there wasn't much to eat in the house so I decided to go out for lunch." Staring at the ground for a moment in contemplation, she weighs the decision to ask him for lunch and decides it would be nice to have some company for once.

"Would you… like to join me?" She looks up at him expectantly.

Kakashi blinks a few times, looking over her small form. She seems… troubled.

"Lunch with one of my beloved students? Sure." Although difficult to tell with the mask covering half his face, Sakura can tell that a warm smile is gracing his features.

She grabs his hand and pulls him to her favourite Korean barbeque restaurant, giggling as he stumbles behind her. "You're going to love this place, Kakashi-sensei!"

They spend the better part of the day conversing with each other and performing menial errands, such as grocery shopping, picking up flowers for Hinata and, against Sakura's better judgment, accompanying Kakashi to a bookstore where he spent an entire hour picking out new 'romance' novels. She wasn't sure how much of a plot they actually had.

"Why do you even read that crap?" She frowns as she eyes the bag of books pressed closely to his chest.

"Hey, it's not crap!" He defends with a pout, "they're… educational."

"Right," she rolls her eyes and jostles the bags of groceries in her arms. She was prepared to make a cynical comment about the realities of so-called romance, but decided against it for fear that it'd rouse the genius's suspicions toward her 'love life'.

Abruptly, the gray-haired nin stops walking so Sakura turns back to look at him. Raising an eyebrow at the serious expression suddenly donning his face, she tilts her head slightly and laughs in slight discomfort from the tenseness of his gaze.

"Ok, ok, I get it. They're education," she grins.

Ignoring her, Kakashi asks, "Ne, Sakura. How are things with Sasuke?"

The grin fades briefly as she realizes she really is a bad liar, for him to grow suspicious solely from her body language... or something. She'd have to think on it to avoid whatever mistake she made. Quickly recovers from her surprise and laughs nervously. "It's great! It's, y'know… what I always wanted."

"Are you sure?" He asks again, seemingly examining her as one would a microbe under a microscope. It makes her uncomfortable, because she knows he's masterfully perceptive and capable of spotting a lie from a mile away. She should be grateful for this, but with memories of the mangekyou sharingan fresh in her mind, the last thing she wants is to make Sasuke even angrier by spilling their secrets to their sensei. Moreover, the foolish naive part of her still wanted to believe that her marriage could be fixed. It was only a small hope, it grew smaller with each passing day, yet it was still there and she didn't want to see it extinguished just yet by involving Kakashi.

"Of course! I mean, he's away a lot with missions and training so it's hard at times, but it's just the usual stresses in a marriage." Internally, she cringes and mentally slaps herself for replying too quickly, but outwardly she does her best to smile as genuinely as possible.

Both of them know she's lying, though Kakashi is unsure about what and doesn't have enough information to pry. He decides to wait and keep an eye on her for now, it's clear enough to him that his pink haired student wants to drop the subject by her tense posture.

"Oh Sakura," his face switches back to its usual lazy, carefree expression and he brushes past her excitedly, "it's that new mochi ice cream shop I mentioned at lunch."

Breathing a sigh of relief, she turns to follow him inside the small shop. As she watches the copy-cat nin eagerly examine the flavours on display, she happens to glance up at the clock and notices it's already approaching 5pm.

"What flavor do you think I should try?" He glances over his shoulder at her.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei, it's getting late and I have a dinner date!" Leaning her back against the door, she starts to make her exit before pausing.

"Try the green tea flavor, I hear it's a classic!" She smiles before dashing out the door.

III.

After a bit of struggling, Sakura finally managed to open the door to the house with all the bags she's carrying. Slipping off her shoes, she inelegantly bumps her way into the kitchen only to be scared half to death by the presence of a brooding Uchiha standing in the doorway between the kitchen and to the hall leading to their bedrooms. His arms are crossed and, if she's not mistaken, a subtle frown mars his usually blank face.

"Where have you been all day?" He pushes himself off the doorframe and takes a few steps toward her.

Glancing down, she bites her lip.

Is it really his business to know where she's been all day? She hasn't spoken a word against their marriage to anyone, not even her best friend, nor has she demanded that Tsunade return her work schedule to normal. She's done everything he's wanted. If he thought she was just going to lie down and completely give up every last semblance of her independence, he was sorely mistaken.

She looks up with determination.

"Where do you think I was," after glaring down at the groceries in the arms, she emphasizes her point by shoving a bag against his chest.

"It's not like the fridge is going to restock itself." Taking a few steps away from him, she makes her way around the kitchen island and starts setting down the rest of the bags and flowers for Hinata.

"Hn." Sasuke does not press the issue but mirrors her actions by putting the bag she'd just roughly handed him on the counter as well.

"Leave this, you have to get ready." He says curtly. She knows Sasuke never was one for being tardy. It must just be killing him to think they might not show up before Naruto and Hinata. Out of spite she makes no effort to leave.

"I can put away the groceries," she grits out.

"Sakura." His voice leaves no room for argument. She hates how he can control her simply with the tone of his voice.

Sighing, she puts down the container of strawberries she was holding and starts to exit the kitchen now just wanting to be removed from his domineering presence before she's forced to spend the entire evening faking their relationship with him sitting right across from her. Before she can make it a single step passed Sasuke, he grabs her elbow.

Immediately, her breathing halts and she dares not look behind her.

Was he really that mad?

Tilting his head to her ear, she can feel his hot breath fanning the side of her face. She gulps and closes her eyes.

"The red one."

Her eyebrows scrunch up as she stares dumbly at the empty hall in front of her.

"What?" She asks in confusion.

"Wear the red one."

Without another word he relinquishes her elbow and returns to his task, back facing her, as if she wasn't even in the room.

Ignoring her shaky legs, she quickly proceeds to her room. For a moment, she simply eyed the two kimonos laid out on her bed. What would he do if she wore the navy blue one just to spite him.

She shakes her head and holds up the red kimono. Red really is her colour.


	4. Dinner Date

**Author's Notes: **I'm glad I managed to finish this chapter. I really want to persevere and finish any fics I work on... cause I go crazy when I get into fics and am left hanging forever (seriously, pretty much all my favourite stories end up getting ditched by the author *sob*). Anyways, I'm hoping things heat up after this chapter. I find I thoroughly enjoy writing scenes between Sasuke and Sakura but pretty much, as soon as any other character is involved, it becomes really tiresome work lol. Group conversations are the hardest;;; Also, even though I usually pair of Naruto and Hinata, I actually am not convinced by that pairing... Sakura/Naruto seems a lot better to me even though I still want SasuSaku.

Enjoy reading! Thank you for the reviews ^p^

* * *

**Chapter IV**

Sakura sighed in boredom. Her chin was rested on the palm her hand, while her other hand occupied itself by poking the ice in her glass with a straw. The walk to the restaurant had been awkward and uncomfortable, but now that they were sitting alone at the dinner table, waiting for a late Naruto and Hinata, it was downright suffocating.

The ice clinked against the glass. She started to make a game out of it, trying to drag the cube on the bottom to the top without having to reposition the straw more than once. It was harder than it looked. She struggled several times with a particularly stubborn cube that kept spinning around as she poked and prodded it, rather than dragging along with the straw to the surface. _Frustrating piece of ice._

Sasuke's hand snapped out and stilled her hand, sending her a glare that told her to find another way to amuse herself. He was such a kill joy. And, a frustrating piece of ice on a whole different level.

Rolling her eyes, she snatched her hand away and leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed. What did he expect her to do? He wasn't even making an effort to talk to her. Wasn't he the one who wanted everyone to think they were happily married? She stared at him closely. He was wearing loosely fitted black pants with a navy blue shirt that had a high collar. It was not unlike the shirt he wore when he was a genin, except it fit more snugly and zipped up the middle. He had it zipped up to his collarbones, leaving some of his creamy, smooth skin exposed. With his chin resting on his hands in front of him, he sat unmoving in the chair across from her. His mouth remained in a thin, straight line as he stared absently on some point on the table.

He blinked.

She wondered what he was thinking about.

In the next second, black uncaring eyes stared directly into green ones with a slight hint of annoyance. Sakura stared back in partial surprise, her body suddenly tense under his unwavering gaze. Everything about him seemed to be crafted to perfection by the gods, but those eyes of his, they were what held all the mystery.

Unconsciously, she swallowed to moisten her dry throat. He must've been aware of her staring. It seemed Uchiha's possessed the uncanny ability of knowing precisely every minute detail of their surroundings without even having to look.

She was about ready to make some small, useless comment on how annoying it was that Naruto and Hinata were still absent but Sasuke's gaze broke and he looked up from the table.

"Dobe."

Following his sightline, she turned to see a grinning blonde with a beautiful, pale-eyed Hyuuga heiress linked around his arm. Hinata wore a traditional violet kimono with a silver pattern of various shapes and designs decorating the sleeves and base. She looked, in a word, stunning. A twinge of jealousy pooled in Sakura's gut; she didn't think she could ever carry such a regal appearance. It must be a natural part of inheritance for well-known families, like the Uchiha and Hyuuga, to pass on an air of superiority over everyone else. Naruto looked more his usual, orange pants, black t-shit and the Fourth's red and white overcoat that reached to the mid of his calves.

The blonde laughed while rubbing the back of his head with his hand, "Sorry we're late!" His smile turned to a frown, "Hinata's father is making me memorize the names and faces of all these important guests he's invited to our wedding." He grumbled out the last part rather miserably as he pulled out a chair next to Sakura for Hinata to sit in.

"Even though the wedding is still a couple months away, Naruto-kun still has a lot to learn," Hinata looked nervously at Naruto.

"Who would've thought I'd have to study for my own wedding," he groaned.

Sakura laughed at the mental image of Naruto sitting over a book trying to memorize the names of wedding guests with Hinata cheering him on.

"You better hope Naruto's better at remembering names than he was studying at the academy."

"Hey! Sakura-chan is so mean," the blonde pouted and crossed his arms. In response, Sakura winked and grinned widely. Teasing Naruto always was a nice past time.

"The dobe's memorization skills are as hopeless as his genjutsu." Sasuke added to the conversation somewhat boredly. Naruto and Sasuke never changed; they still liked to flaunt each other's weaknesses when the opportunity arose.

"Teme!" Naruto glared at his best friend sitting next to him, who merely raised an eyebrow at his inability to come up with a good comeback.

"Naruto-kun, let's just order our dinner because Sasuke and Sakura have already been waiting a while for us." Sakura cringed at the way the pale-eyed females eyes stared adoringly at the man sitting across from her. God, she was turning cynical.

"Hai, hai," Naruto nodded and held his arm up to signal a waiter.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura noticed one of the waiters walking towards them. As her companions engaged in the typical banter, she regarded the waiter closely. It was a female with decent facial features, and dark brown hair that reached the small of her back. The woman possessed a particularly well endowed chest, much akin to Hinata. Though unlike the modest nature of the heiress, the waiter appeared to flaunt hers by leaving the top two buttons of her white shirt unbuttoned, leaving a fair portion of cleavage on display.

She watched as the female waitress sauntered over to the table, swaying her hips and keeping her eyes fixed on none other than the infamous Uchiha prodigy. Purposely, the woman walked right past Naruto and moved to stand, much too closely, to Sasuke. After passing out the menus, she leaned her hand on her hip, her arm practically brushing against the dark haired object of her desire.

"Good evening, my name is Ume," Sakura particularly noted how the woman only very briefly looked up at the rest of the table before keeping her attention entirely on Sasuke.

"I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"Hm," Naruto and Hinata broke into a silent conversation on whether to get a bottle of red or white wine. Sakura, meanwhile, stared aghast as Sasuke browsed through the list of drinks in complete disregard to the blatant violation of his personal space.

"We'll take a bottle of white wine, please." Naruto replied in his usual happy tone.

"And a bottle of red." Sasuke added boredly to Naruto's order. The difference between the two relationships was stark, though unmentioned. One couple discussed the order together; the other was made without consultation.

"Sure thing, dear," the brown-haired woman smiled and brushed her fingers against Sasuke's shoulder as she left to fetch the bottles and wine glasses.

Sakura didn't know why, or refused to accept why, she couldn't help but glare at the woman's back as she departed. It was entirely inappropriate. It's not that she was _jealous _or something. It's because the woman was blatantly trying to hit up a married man. Right in front of her, no less! It would have been just as infuriating had she been throwing herself all over Naruto.

Sparring a quick glance at the raven haired man across from her, Sakura swallowed her silent frustration before proceeding to examine the menu placed in front of her.

There was such a large selection of dishes on the menu, and the meals were not cheap. Sakura carefully read through each option, not wanting to miss something. She looked over at Naruto, seeing his face light up. Clearly, he found something that excited him.

"There's so many different types of ramen!" His eyes remained unmoved from the menu.

Sasuke, meanwhile, snorted and looked at the blonde sitting next to him.

"The only thing your small brain is capable of memorizing is a ramen menu." Naruto's eyes turned to slits at the comment.

"And the only thing you're capable of is keeping that stick permanently up your as—"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata used her rare scolding tone and immediately succeeded in getting the blonde to send her an apologetic look. The interaction made a small smile tug on Sakura's face. Ever the pacifist, Hinata truly was a good fit for Naruto.

The clinking of glasses broke Sakura's line of thought. She turned to see the waitress passing out the wine glasses and placing the wine bottles on the table before her. Lifting up the corkscrew, she opened the first bottle of wine and poured some in Naruto and Hinata's glass. She then proceeded to do the same with the red wine. Quickly, Sakura's glass was filled halfway, before the woman turned and shifted down slightly lower as she poured the red liquid into Sasuke's.

Sakura frowned slightly. Was this woman trying to give him a full view of her cleavage!? Moreover, why was Sasuke not scowling at the woman and giving her death-rays like he normally would?

She couldn't help but glare at the woman as she, not so gently, smacked the menu down with enough force to grab everyone's attention at the table.

"I'm ready to order," despite her best efforts to control her growing anger, her voice still came out rather rough.

"Of course, Miss. What can I get for you?" The women straightened up, though continued to hold certain smugness in her eyes as she pulled out her pen and notepad.

"Butter chicken, please." She was relieved she managed to get the word 'please' out without it sounding too forced.

While Hinata and Naruto spoke with the waiter on their order, Sakura spared a glance at Sasuke. Calmly, he placed the menu down and reached forward, his fingers lacing delicately around the stem of the wine glass. With a grace only he seemed to possess, he raised it to his lips and tilted the glass. As the liquid started to pass through his slightly parted lips, his eyes flickered up. His lowered obsidian eyes met her green ones. There seemed to be something hidden beneath the surface but she couldn't tell what it was.

"And what can I get you, sir?" The waitress's fingers lightly rested on his shoulder as she asked.

Setting the glass back down, Sasuke's gaze lingered but a moment longer before his eyes dragged up to the woman's face.

Was he… checking that woman out, right in front of her?!

No, no. It had to be her imagination. This was Sasuke. He didn't do things like that. It was way out of his usual character. He was an emotionally aloof, distant person who definitely did not relish the attention of complete strangers. Throughout his entire life, he never showed an intimate interest in any woman… right?

After he made his order, they passed their menus back to the waitress and continued to make small talk for a good fifteen minutes before their meals arrived.

Naruto hungrily slurped down the noodles in his bowl, humming happily.

"This ramen is pretty good! You actually picked a good restaurant teme."

"Hn."

Silence stretched for a couple minutes as they ate their meals in quiet enjoyment. Although, her meal was good, Sakura found herself fuming over the behavior of the man opposite to her. Seriously. Did he act this way just to push her buttons? He was doing a pretty good job of it.

"So Sakura-san," Hinata paused from eating, "I heard you took some time off work." The mere mention of the hospital caused her shoulders to slump slightly. The only response she could muster was a small nod of the head.

"You better come back soon Sakura-chan, Ino is so rough," Naruto grumbled, "I think she actually injures me even more."

"Everyone misses you at the hospital, Saskura-san."

"I hope to be back soon," Sakura smiled warmly but instantly flashed a subtle glare at Sasuke, which went unnoticed by her companions.

"Unfortunately," she continued, "we are sometimes forced to do things we don't really want to." Her stomach tinged with anger as the words filled the air innocently enough.

"Aa," Sasuke took another sip from his glass, eyeing Sakura carefully, "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices to do what's right." She could hear, more than see, the way his eyes must've narrowed a fraction of an amount.

The two engaged in a silent battle of wills as Naruto continued on the conversation.

"Tell me about it, I have to memorize all these names of guests Hinata's father is inviting to our wedding!" He slumped against the table in self-pity.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun," Hinata pat him on the head in comfort, "You'll get it soon enough."

After a few more bites filled with a series of silent curses, Sakura pushed her dinner plate aside, satisfied with having eaten the majority of her meal. The others soon followed and waited at the table as Sasuke left to pay the bill.

"Ne, Sakura-chan," Naruto spoke quietly and leaned forward a little so other people in the restaurant could not hear what he was about to say.

"I just wanted to let you know that I understand and it's ok."

She blinked several times in response, not understanding what the blonde was talking about. Could he possibly see the awkward interaction between her and Sasuke?

"W-what…" She glanced around; making sure Sasuke wasn't in sight.

"I understand why you were acting strange at our engagement party. Sasuke explained it to me."

"I…I… he did?" Her eyes rose in partial surprise. For some reason her body seemed to perspire a little. It felt like she'd been caught in a lie.

"Yes." Naruto nodded in confirmation of his verbal response.

"What did he say?" She asked slowly, her eyebrows knitting together in hesitant confusion.

"Y'know," he glanced at Hinata, "About how your parents are going through a difficult time in their marriage."

"Excuse me?" She replied breathlessly, now completely unsure what this conversation was about. Her parents? They were not having any difficulties. Sure, they bickered at times; her mother often complained about how her farther never seemed to take anything seriously and always made bad jokes. They knit-picked over each others' mannerisms, but they were still as in love as the day they met.

"Sasuke. He told us about your parents' marriage difficulties. That's why you were talking so negatively about it to me before you left." He looked at her, waiting for understanding to appear on her face.

"Sasuke… told you… that?" She spoke hesitantly, the wheels of understanding gradually starting to click in her mind.

Naruto nodded and reached his arm out to rest his hand on hers,

"Yes." He squeezed her hand and smiled, "I'm sure they'll get through it so don't worry so much. And, don't forget, you and Sasuke still have a strong marriage!" With that said, he withdrew his hand, grinning with his characteristically toothy smile.

The sentiment, while thoughtful, sent another rush of anger pooling in her stomach. It was one thing for Sasuke to have her put up with this illusion of a marriage, but another thing entirely for him to lie about her parent's just to continue covering it up. He crossed the line!

Sakura pursed her lips and pulled her arms off the table to hide her bawled fist under the tablecloth.

"Thank you, Naruto." Her voice came out curt, but she nodded her head in acknowledgement of his words. She was definitely going to have to confront Sasuke about this. Her family was off limits.

"Don't worry about it Sakura-chan!"

Just as he finished, the object of her bubbling anger arrived, standing at the edge of the table with one hand in his pocket and the other hanging loosely at his side. She was so angry with him, she couldn't even bring herself to look at him. Instead, she pushed back her chair, stood and immediately turned her back to him and walked in the direction of the exit. He followed, only a half step behind her, which only annoyed her further because at once she wanted to be a million miles away from him and punching his face into the ground.

Naruto and Hinata followed them, though remained deep in conversation over how pleasant the evening had been.

Laying a hand on the door handle, Sakura began to push, eagerly awaiting a breath of cool air. Just as stepped one foot out the door, a voice called out behind her.

"Uchiha-san! You forgot your receipt." Ume, their waitress for the evening ran up to him and placed the small piece of paper in his hand. She leaned in and whispered something in his ear before winking and turning back. The action inflamed Sakura further and she shoved her way outside, just barely remembering to hold the door open for Naruto and Hinata. She didn't bother to wait for Sasuke, who was a good ten feet away.

"Sakura-san, it was so nice getting to catch up with you again," Hinata smiled.

"Yes, I'm happy we did this." Sakura plastered on the best fake smile she could muster and pulled Hinata into a light embrace.

She turned to Naruto and gave him a hug as well, "It was nice seeing you Naruto." Her voice softened as she continued, "Good luck remembering all those names for the wedding." She stepped back and heard the door to the restaurant open.

"You better come back to the hospital soon, Sakura-chan! And teme," Naruto looked over at the man approaching, "well… I see your miserable face enough as it is." He chuckled playfully and linked his fingers with Hinata's. Sakura stared bitterly at their locked hands.

"Hn." Sasuke stood next to Sakura, and then, proceeded to do the most unexpected thing. The first thing she felt was the subtle tug on her hand, then his hand encased hers rather tightly. So tightly in fact, that it almost made her wince. She quickly peered up at him but he seemed to be completely ignoring her, as if the action of holding her hand was something natural. It wasn't. Not once, since they were genin, did he take hold of her hand. And, annoyingly, her hand seemed to burn from his touch, making her palm quickly grow sweaty.

They exchanged goodbyes with each other and Sakura watched as Naruto's back slowly receded into the night. Sasuke, too impatient to linger, pulled on her arm, forcing her to follow his lead as he practically dragged her in the direction of home.

She looked down at the linked hands, the surprise still evident on her face. It took a few steps for her to remember that she was still really mad at him. For the lie he told Naruto and for the way he so casually seemed to accept the advances of their flirtatious waitress.

She waited until they turned down the next street before yanking her hand out of his grasp. The force with which she pulled on her arm sent her stumbling back a couple feet, but she didn't let it prevent her from sending a particularly nasty glare at the ebony haired man in front of her. Brushing her hand off on her kimono, as if his very touch was some kind of contaminant, she bit out a harsh comment in reply to his questioning gaze.

"They can't see us now, we don't have to _pretend_."

Quickly, she walked one-step ahead of him, and remained one-step ahead until she pushed open the front door to the house rather roughly. Slipping out of her shoes, she made her way into the kitchen, absolutely hating that she could still _feel _his presence behind her. She couldn't take it anymore. She never could reign in her temper and it'd been festering for the entire evening.

Sakura spun on her heels to face him, "What the hell is wrong with you!" It wasn't a question, it was an accusation.

Tilting his head, Sasuke regarded her form with a slightly raised eyebrow. Although, he said nothing his his demeanor was entirely patronizing. As if she was a problem child throwing yet another tantrum.

It made her angrier!

"Don't ever involve my parent's in another lie of yours!" She yelled, but fell short of making a threat. Despite all the power she had, she never had enough to actually defeat him.

"Is that what this is about?" He asked boredly, straightening up and turning away with disinterest to walk toward the hall leading to his bedroom.

"I'm serious _Sasuke. _They're not a part of this."

He paused and said nothing for several seconds. All she could see was his back, and despite how mad she was, the silence unsettled her nerves slightly. She could handle an angry Sasuke, as well as an arrogant one; it was when he became silent that his actions proved unpredictable. Yet, she remained steadfast and continued glaring at his back with a confident determination, adamant not to let her internal discomfort reveal itself outwardly.

"Don't put me in a position where I have to make up excuses for your behavior." His voice remained level and calm yet she could still detect a hidden threat.

"My behaviour?!" She retorted, the offense to his reply evident in her tone. "What about you?"

Although he didn't look at her, his head shifted ever so slightly in her direction.

"You were practically all _over _that waitress tonight," she sneered in disgust. It was, obviously, a clear exaggeration but as far as Uchiha's go, his passive tolerance of the woman's fleeting touches and overt staring was enough to show he accepted her advances.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder, examining her fully now.

"It was hardly _all over_," he spoke smugly, seemingly amused by her anger.

"You were sitting right in front of me, I saw you!" Her voice started to rise a little, exasperated by his inability to admit he was in the wrong.

Now, he turned to face her directly with eyes narrowed fractionally and his mouth in a straight line.

"If I was all over that woman, I wonder what your day out with Kakashi would be considered." At the mention of their sensei, his eyes seemed to darken.

The insinuation was completely absurd, Sakura could only stare at him, mouth agape, and eyes squinted in disbelief at the ridiculous accusation. Did he even hear what he just said? Kakashi was their sensei and an important friend. There was nothing wrong with spending time with him, all they did was catch up and keep each other company as they ran menial errands.

"Are you even listening to yourself? He's our sensei. Not some random guy I picked up." Her hands flew to her hip as she prepared to lecture him.

"Don't try to turn this around on me. This is about you letting some random woman put her hands all over you!" She didn't notice how he took a step toward her.

"I saw you look her over when she was pouring your wine, and how you didn't push her away when she whispered in your ear before we left." Her eyes narrowed, still oblivious to how his body was gliding closer to her own.

"What did she tell you?" She didn't give him a chance to reply.

"Did she ask you to _screw_ her?!" She sneered. The words just continued to flow from her mouth, unable to stop. She wasn't even paying attention to what she was saying anymore.

"I bet that's what you'll be doing tonight, am I right?" She cast her eyes down in shame. Of all things, she never imagined that she'd be one of those wives who sits at home while her husband is out having affairs. Just the thought made her stomach twist in knots.

A pregnant pause elapsed between them, before his deep voice finally rang through the room.

"Are you _jealous_?"

Instantly her eyes snapped up and met his in shock. _Her? Jealous? _No way. There was no way. She should not feel for this man, he already made it clear to her that this was not a marriage based in love. She was just angry because… because he was being a complete hypocrite.

"Don't flatter yourself. I would never be jealous of that woman," she bit out, and took a step back to create more distance. He answered with another step forward. She stepped back again, but this time her back bumped into the kitchen table.

"Really?" Sasuke tilted his head.

Closing the gap between them, his hands landed on the counter behind her, trapping her between his solid body and the table. The sudden proximity of his body caused her to swallow slightly in sudden discomfort.

"It seems to me that you're jealous," his lips curled into a smirk.

"No. I would never-" Sakura gasped when she felt one of his fingers press against her lips in a motion to silence her.

"You can't lie to me." He reprimands as he leans in closer, that subtle hint of amusement still shining in his eyes making its way into his masculine voice as well.

She doesn't know why, after all he's done to her, after how badly his coldness has stung, she still feels a tickle in her stomach at his closeness. Her heartbeat still jumps in her chest and she's vaguely aware of how it's a little more difficult to breathe. Even though she should be terrified of him, her fear and anger become of secondary importance whenever the heat radiating from his body mingles with her own.

What he says is true. She can never lie to him. Despite what logic dictates, her body's reactions will always betray her.

"Sasuke-kun…" She murmurs, desperately wanting to lean in to his form but remaining rooted in place. Her gaze drops to his lips; those thin supple lips, which are curved in a dangerous smirk that makes her body weak. She knows her stare and desire must be obvious, but the gentle tingling sensation she feels inside her head is enough to make her care less about what he must think.

Leaning in even closer, Sasuke's lips part slightly as they hover above hers.

"I suppose," his breath tickles her skin, "it would be _normal_ for husband and wife to…" He leaves his sentence hanging and in the next instant, his hand snakes around cupping the back of her head so he can force his lips on hers in a demanding kiss.

All thoughts leave her when she feels his mouth on hers. With her wide eyes filled with shock, she stares into his narrowed eyes. Her arms involuntarily fly up to grip the material of his shirt. She doesn't know what she should do, push him away or draw him in closer?

His eyes darken when her lips remain unresponsive after his tongue darts out requesting entry. She denies him only because her body is paralyzed, too surprised to act or move on its own.

That hand in her hair tugs with just enough force that it causes her to release a small cry. Quickly, the raven haired man takes the opportunity to delve in deeply to her mouth, running his tongue along every corner. Hesitantly, she starts to respond, darting her tongue out to meet his. This is what a real kiss feels like.

As they continue their heated kiss, his hand roams down her side before resting on her hip in a possessive grip. The feeling of being in his arms is unlike any sensation she's ever felt. She wants to mold herself to him and never be released, except something makes her hesitate.

His words keep drifting in her mind.

_It would be normal_.

As much as she wants to ignore them in favour of continuing this, the heat in her stomach starts to evaporate, quickly filling her with something cold and empty. She didn't want him like this. Not as if it was a chore or something that had to be done simply because it was _normal_. If they were going to be intimate, she wanted him to want it too.

His fingers start to tug on the obi around her waist. Slowly pulling and reminding her with a great sense of urgency that she had to act.

Sakura pulled back abruptly and turned her face to the side. Their heavy pants fill the otherwise silent kitchen. Her downcast eyes stare at some random point on the floor, trying to think of what to say.

They remain unmoving as their breathing slowly regularizes, his fingers still on her obi but remaining still. She's actually surprised he didn't step away from her already. This is the closest they've ever been. It's a shame to end it but to continue under its existing pretense would only leave her feeling impossibly empty in the morning. She's not the type of person who can have sex without the promise of something more. Something meaningful.

Her fisted hands loosen their grip and instead push against his chest.

"I… Sasuke-kun please, I don't want this." Even as she says the words, tears start to brim in the corners of her eyes. She can't bring herself to look up at him, afraid of the emptiness she'll she.

"I'm sorry," she murmurs apologetically. She's sorry he doesn't love her. Sorry he doesn't care. Sorry he can commit such an intimate act for the sake of appearances. Her arms fall limp at her sides.

He withdraws from her after taking a half-step back but remains in close proximity as he reaches into his pocket and withdrawals a small piece of paper. Placing the paper on the counter behind her, his fingers press down on it and remain in place as he speaks.

"Lots of women give me their number, Sakura." His voice is neither smug nor consoling. It's its usual indifference, but the way his hand slowly pulls back and lightly brushes against her arm as he steps back completely and starts to leave the room, suggests that he means something more. Perhaps it's an assurance he won't jeopardize getting caught or…

She doesn't hazard to guess beyond that.


	5. Ruse

**Author's Notes:** Wooh, finally updating this! To be honest, I think I'm starting to lose inspiration for this fic but I will try to finish it anyway. I already thought up the ending, just have to get there O v O; There's just so many other ideas I have and want to work on, but I don't want to start a bunch of fics before finishing some of the ones I've already uploaded. Wish me luck;;

Thank you dearly for any reviews you leave me!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

I.

A sigh slipped past the pink haired kunoichi's lips as her fingers rose to delicately trace over the soft, supple skin of her lips. The entire night she couldn't stop reliving the feel of his soft yet demanding mouth on hers. The way he dominated the kiss while running his hands down her side… She shivered at her recollection and shut her eyes in concentration. There seemed to be an element of passion in him that she hadn't considered possible since first marrying him. Where it had come from, she wasn't too sure because their conservation up to the point where it all started had been one-sided accusations. The entire sequence of events was still hard to wrap her head around.

Sakura shook her head, dropping her fingers to the edges of her wooden office desk and rising from her seat. It wouldn't do well to dwell on where the kiss had come from because, surely, a repeat was far from likely. It would be awkward enough having to face him. Was she supposed to act like it didn't happen at all? Knowing Sasuke, that is exactly what he would do. Fortunately, she gained some temporary reprieve from an inevitable run in with him, since today was the one day of the week she got to put in a shift at the hospital. She had never been more thankful to be at work.

Grabbing a pile of folders from the desk, she opened the top one up and started to run through the stats for her first patient of the day. This, she thought, would be a healthy distraction from the issues of her home life. She walked blindly down the hall, having memorized the entire layout of the hospital floor plan, with her head in the folder. As she made a sharp turn around the corner, she had the awareness to avoid bumping into one of the other nurses before coming to a stop on the outside of her patient's room. With an eager push, she opened the door and smiled brightly at the elderly male, sitting on the edge of a bed as he awaited her arrival.

"Sakura-san!" The elder male with thinning white hair smiled at her.

"Good morning, Hanyu-san." Sakura replied warmly. The male was one of her regulars, a clumsy man by nature and only further disadvantaged by his age. She put the folder down on his bedside and crossed her arms.

"Now Hanyu-san, as much as I like your visits, I thought I told her I didn't want to see you in here for at least another six months?" She scolded him with a friendly amusement still in her voice.

The man sheepishly grinned, and scratched the back of his head, "Ah, but how could I go without seeing you for so long? My wife only ever orders me around."

"I'm sure she only does it for your own good," she gave a small wink. Although some doctors would disagree, Sakura always found forming a type of personal connection with patients was important, since it put them at ease and made them more open to sharing details about any symptoms they might have.

"Now," Sakura referred back to her professional tone, "I read you tripped and hurt your ankle?" The man nodded and lifted his injured leg to indicate the area of soreness.

Sakura took a step forward, running her chakra over the ankle as the man rested his foot in his lap. It only took her a few seconds to find what was wrong.

"Well, Hanyu-san, you are lucky because it's only a bad sprain and not a fracture." She lifted her hands and went over to one of the cupboards to pull out some bandages to help lighten the tension on the male's leg muscles. Quickly and efficiently, she started to wrap the sprained ankle while lecturing her patient once more, "You really need to be more careful, how did this happen anyway?"

"Ah, you see… The miss's wanted me to pick up a loaf of bread for dinner and the store was about to close," he laughed a bit at himself as he continued, "Naturally I had to run but I tripped on a stone just outside the shop."

"Make sure you take it easy for the next week, alright?" She tilted her head, giving the man a reassuring grin. "I hope that loaf was worth it."

"I will, and the miss's was quite happy with it! Thank you, Sakura-san," he reached out to give her a handshake, to which she accepted before making her way onto the next patient of the day. Sakura already felt as though her day was more fulfilled than it had been the entire past week.

The morning blurred by, as it usually did when working at the busy hospital. At lunchtime, she got to catch up and laugh with her colleagues while eating her lunch at her usual table. It was already late in the afternoon when she found herself grinning widely at the folder for her next patient.

With an excitement that surprised herself, she rushed inside the room with a hand on her hip and her head held high in mock-superiority. "Sensei, I didn't know you missed me so much that you would injure yourself just to see me," she smirked when she observed the gray-haired shinobi's head snap up from an all-too-familiar orange book cover. His mask and clothes were covered with dirt and occasional rips and tears in the fabric. The slight bags under his coal coloured eye indicated his body's fatigue, but the way he held his lower rip cage was the biggest sign of his injury.

With the smile reaching his lonesome eye, Kakashi replied, "Aa. You can imagine what a drag it is to be in the company of your male teammates all day." Sakura giggled in response, appreciating the thought that at least someone missed her presence.

Leaning in a bit, she silently motioned for Kakashi to lift up his navy blue, long-sleeved shirt so that she could get a better inspection of his ribs. She blushed faintly at his exposed, muscular chest. Even though she was used to seeing men's bare chests, she was only human. A female human at that, and Kakashi's abdominal muscles were well-defined as if chiseled from marble itself.

Her fingers ghosted over the underside of his ribcage with the utmost professionalism and particular care not to cause unnecessary pain. She noted how his eye winced minutely at the contact, and proceeded to concentrate chakra into her hands so she could start the healing process. First, it was repairing tears in the muscles, then onto actual healing of bone.

"You've fractured two of your ribs on the right side." She stated factually, slowly moving her fingers up, "And, you've bruised two others."

Nodding, Kakashi sat back a little, placing his book down beside him so he could lean back against the arm that wasn't preoccupied with holding his shirt up to his neck.

"Honestly," she started to lecture him as she healed, "what irresponsible thing were you doing this time?"

Kakashi smirked a little, a certain mischievousness dancing around in his eye, "If you think this is bad, you should see the other guy."

"What other—"

Before she could finish her question, she heard a familiar yelp from her loud-mouthed, blonde haired teammate in the room next door. Then, she heard a series of several complaints on how whoever was healing him was being unnecessarily rough.

"Naruto," she muttered out in a cross between surprise and anger. "You guys never know how to train without inflicting serious injury on each other, do you." It wasn't a question.

Kakashi could only laugh nervously, while wincing at the pain the reaction caused in his abdomen. He silently thanked himself that Sakura didn't have the same tendency to physically abuse him when annoyed, like she did with Naruto.

She could only give him a half-hearted glare before continuing with her task.

Somewhere during the healing process, her mind started to drift. It occurred to her, quite abruptly, that she had failed to notice something the night before in her conversation with Sasuke. Right in between her accusations of Sasuke's wandering eye, he had countered with a specific accusation of his own.

_'I wonder what your day out with Kakashi would be considered.'_

It's not that she could, or even found it necessary, to address the response, but now that she thought about it, she wondered… How did Sasuke know that in the first place? She had left before Kakashi, and by the time she got home, Sasuke had already been waiting rather impatiently in the kitchen. It was obvious there had been no opportunity in that time for Kakashi to run into Sasuke and discuss their day of running errands; moreover, she doubted the silver-haired nin would find mentioning such a topic with Sasuke worthwhile.

Perhaps, Sasuke had observed them at some point. Though, why wouldn't he have come over to greet them, in whatever way the sole-surviving Uchiha _knew _how to greet. To add to that, even if he had observed them at some point, how would he have known they spent the day together? It wasn't possible that he had been… watching her, was it?

_Of course not! _She had to physically restrain herself from shaking her head to dispel the crazy thought. There had to be some explanation she was missing. Just like there had to be some explanation on why, despite all her anger and resentments for the Uchiha, that kiss he gave her felt so _good_. As like so many times already, she couldn't help but recall the way his tongue traced over her lips, and how the feel of his solid body pressed firmly against her own had caused heat to start forming in lower regions.

The vivid memory caused an unwanted blush to rise up her neck and spread across her cheeks. With her lips pursed, she tried with all her might to direct all her concentration into her chakra-laced hands now firmly planted on her sensei's rib cage. She didn't even know how she would explain this blush if he asked. Instead, all she could do was stare determinedly at the green glow emitting from her hands while avoiding his gaze completely. Nervous sweat started to form on her temple, as she silently swore her cheeks were growing a darker shade of red by the minute.

"Sakura," his smooth tone almost made her flinch with the sudden urge to flee. Gulping, she prepared to hesitantly look and attempt to excuse herself in the most discreet way possible, when abruptly; her thoughts were disrupted once more.

The door to the room opened roughly.

"Sakura." The intruder's deep, familiar voice instantly caused her body to tense. After what felt like minutes, she shakily looked behind her. With her eyes partially widened in surprise, her cheeks red and her fingers still rooted firmly on her sensei's exposed upper half, she stared directly into the onyx eyes of her husband.

"Sasuke-kun?" She phrased it as a question because, even if she should've known better, she had somehow not expected to see him there, in the hospital.

The green glow had already faded from her hands, Kakashi's injuries healed for the most part, yet her fingers remained pressed against his skin and she did not have the sensibility to even imagine what the situation must've looked like. Sasuke's narrowed eyes surely should have tipped her off, had her mind not been so hazy.

The tension inside the room seemed to make the air grow thick. Slowly recovering from her shock, she reluctantly glanced between Sasuke and back at Kakashi, noticing how neither seemed to pay her any attention at all. Instead, the two men were locked in a heated stare that she couldn't even guess the meaning behind. She couldn't help feeling like a decoration in the room, her presence being clearly ignored only shortly after both men had initiated a conversation with her.

"U-um…" She finally, albeit awkwardly, broke the silence after what must've been a good minute. Again, she looked between the two males, before at last, Kakashi let go of the hem of his shirt and gently took both her wrist in his hands to place them deftly at her sides.

"Thank you, Sakura." He spoke relatively softly, and all she could find herself doing was nodding lamely and taking a step back. For a moment, she couldn't break her gaze from his gentle, yet unreadable, coal eye. It wasn't until she felt Sasuke's hand tugging on her wrist and, rather impatiently, pulling her toward the door that she found her voice. By the time she was at the door, all she had the time to say was a short, "See you!" before she was being dragged down the hall.

Sasuke led her down the entire length of the corridor, not once looking back or uttering a single word. She stared at his hand around her wrist before her gaze traveled up the small of his back and to his tense shoulders. Finally, her attention rested on the way strands of his raven hair swayed from the momentum caused by his brisk walking speed. The entire time, all she could think about was why he seemed so annoyed with her without even having had an actual conversation with her yet.

When he turned down another hall, she could see the view of the elevator quickly approaching. Apparently, it was his intention to drag her out of the hospital completely and without even explaining a word on his unexpectedly sour mood.

Annoyed by his seeming presumption that he could control her work-life as well as his home life, she stopped, only to yank her hand out of his grasp.

"Sasuke," she started in a scolding tone while glaring. He turned back, matching her glare with one of his own, and went to grab her hand again but she stepped back in time for him to miss.

"Sakura." Her name was grit out from between his teeth in a warning manner, but she would have none of it.

"My shift is not done yet." Sakura's head tipped up with determination, refusing to let him obliterate her work schedule further than he already had.

"It doesn't matter."

She honestly had no clue where his hostility was coming from, but seeing as they were in a public location, she knew she had the advantage since to press his demands more aggressively would only cause a scene. Deciding to forgo concern over future repercussions, she continued to prove her point. After all, she had done nothing wrong and would be sure to bring up that point should he decide to throw her behavior back at her later on.

"I've already been cut back to one day a week. I am not leaving until my time is up." Their eyes continued to argue silently, until finally, he grudgingly shifted his feet and started to turn his back to her. Before he could get very far, she added, "Oh, and, I won't be home for dinner. I'm meeting up with Ino. Don't wait up." With that, she faked a smile and turned on her heels to get back to work, choosing to completely disregard any glare he tossed her way.

For the first time in a long while, Sakura got to experience the sweet taste of victory as she left the stewing Uchiha near the elevators. Now, all she had to do was convince Ino to let her stay for dinner and late into the night, to ensure she didn't get home until after the time Sasuke usually went to sleep.

Avoidance was probably not the best tactic, but it certainly was the easiest.

II.

Sakura lay awake on her bed, staring at the white ceiling above. She had returned home, as promised, late the night before. In keeping with her plan, Sasuke had already drifted off to sleep when she carefully and quietly snuck into her room. At some point in between brushing her teeth and lying under the warm covers, she reached the decision to ask Sasuke in the morning how exactly he knew she had shopped around town with Kakashi only a couple short days ago. It's not that it was an essential thing she needed to know, but her inquisitive mind yearned for the answer.

Now, she was trying to think of how she could broach the subject. There was the 'engage in small talk to soften him up' tactic, and then there was what seemed to be _his _personal favourite, the 'cut to the chase and ask straight out' tactic. Normally she would engage in the first tactic, but she had the overwhelming sense that the end result would be the same and, if anything, Sasuke would prefer her not to beat around the bush. Was engaging in small talk with him even possible to begin with?

Sliding out from the covers, Sakura began her morning routine of washing up, making her bed and getting dressed in her usual shinobi outfit. When she opened her bedroom door, she peered down both ends of the hallway, first noticing how Sasuke's bedroom door was slightly ajar, indicating he must already be awake, then looking down the other direction to ensure the coast was clear.

She swung the door wide open and proceeded to make her way to the empty kitchen, where she grabbed some leftover rice out of the fridge and started to eat it for breakfast. It wasn't the most filling meal but adequate enough to get her through until lunchtime.

As she set the dishes in the sink, she could hear faint thuds and the sounds of metal clanking against metal. Deciding it must be Sasuke, she grabbed a peach from the basket on the kitchen table, slipped on her shoes and traveled to the back of the house where the training grounds were.

Briefly, all she could do was stand back and watch in awe as he perfectly bounced kunai off one another, redirecting them to embed perfectly in the targets laid in wooden posts throughout the training field. No matter how many times she saw him fight or train, the impression he left was still one of absolute amazement. The way he effortlessly tossed each kunai, it seemed he didn't even need to look in order to hit each and every target dead in the centre.

Her presence did not go unnoticed. As she stared at his back, with the Uchiha logo prominently on display, she noted how his form straightened before he peered back over his shoulder at her. Their eyes met in a wordless encounter. Then, just as soon as they met, his head turned back to its previous position, with his back still facing her.

She scoffed a little to herself, thinking it so like him to not even spare a single word to greet her good morning. But, instead of verbalizing this point, she took a nice bite out of her juicy peach, quickly observing all the targets he hit flawlessly until her sights set on one target in particular.

Smirking with some sort of smug superiority, though really, she could not prove herself superior to him in anyway, she sweetly pointed out, "You missed one."

His attention snapped back to her in the form of a glare, yet he followed her gaze and observed the target she was referring to.

In all honestly, it wasn't actually a 'miss' per se, the kunai still stuck out from the target but unlike the rest on the field, its tip was not buried directly in the centre spot, rather, it stuck out from the second, slightly larger circle on the target.

As if to prove a point, that she was wrong and he, _always _the perfect one, his arm raised and fingers pointed in the direction of the target. Keeping his blank obsidian eyes on her, he let the electric charge of his chidori cackle around his hand before sending his attack outward and completely obliterating the 'missed' target altogether.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes by taking another bite out of her peach. For some reason, those smoldering onyx eyes of his were making her mouth dry.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun," she started to ask after swallowing, fidgeting slightly and shifting her uncomfortable gaze away from his face. "I wanted to ask you… How did you—"

"Let's spare." His calm voice interrupted her so seamlessly, yet it was the two-worded demand he spoke that almost had her choking.

"What?" She asked in surprise, her eyes snapping up to gauge the credibility of her hearing.

Apparently, there was no mistake in what she heard, since he was already facing her in a defensive posture. "Sasuke-kun," she wanted to voice a complaint, he hadn't even given her the time to mentally collect herself.

"Don't destroy the property," he muttered before jumping forward and twisting, directing a hard kick to her torso.

His form almost disappeared entirely, but Sakura's instincts kicked in fast enough for her to drop the peach unceremoniously on the ground and block his attack with her arms. She winced a little from impact before reaching to grab his ankle but, again, he disappeared and wound up behind her. All she could do for the first several attacks was block, though she was barely keeping up with that task alone.

It occurred to her, in between blocks, that Sasuke was actually taking this quite seriously. The force of his blows and the relentless speed at which he attacked all confirmed it. Knowing this, she didn't want appear helpless. She wanted to prove to him that she was strong and capable of keeping up with him. Perhaps, it would be unrealistic for her to ever match him, the only person who could succeed in that was Naruto; but, she could at least hope to land a punch or two.

Sakura jumped back twenty feet to create some distance in order to formulate a plan. His speed was too much for her to keep up with, her only chance was to catch him by surprise. Though, it didn't help matters much that he decided to handicap her by not letting her use her full chakra-induced strength.

"You can't cheat with your sharingan." She bit out to level the odds. Sasuke scoffed in response, grabbing one of the kunai embedded in a target and flinging it at her while running forward.

Sakura dodged the metal object easily and charged forward, with her elbow pulled back in preparation to strike. When Sasuke jumped, she pivoted and shot her leg up in a high kick but made no impact because in typical fashion he vanished from her vision. Appearing behind her, she swung her elbow back in an attempt to block. Instead, Sasuke fingers connected with the small of her back and shoved her forward roughly.

Stumbling for several steps, Sakura managed to steady herself and glared back at the raven haired male.

"You're too slow and your movements are predictable," he stated dully.

She ignored him and again charged, making several thrusts at his face with her fists, forcing him to retreat while easily avoiding the deadly blows. Abruptly, she lifted her leg and tried to knee him in surprise, but his hand slapped her thigh back down. She ground to a halt.

The hard slap forced a hiss pass her lips, her bare skin stinging and turning red upon impact.

"Better. But still not fast enough." He chided her with seeming disinterest, his voice steady and lacking any evidence of strain. In contrast, Sakura was already breathing heavily and feeling a little disheveled. She suddenly had the thought that his whole reason for sparring with her was just to make himself feel better by pointing out how inferior she was to him.

"I just want to ask you—" Her eyes widened when Sasuke's foot came careening toward her head. She literally had to duck before countering with a low kick of her own. In the process, Sasuke's hand wrapped around her ankle and launched her across the field. Still possessing the strength and sense of mind to land properly, she performed a back flip, her feet sliding into the earth before finally coming to a steady stop. For a moment, the two gazed at each other, waiting for the other to initiate an attack.

"I won't answer any questions if you can't even land a single hit on me." There was a touch of arrogance coming into that emotionless tone of his, making her grit her teeth in mounting frustration.

This time, he took the initiative, seeming to vanish right before her very eyes like so many times already. She still couldn't comprehend that speed of his, but refusing to be distracted by the thought, she glanced at her sides and spun around to see where the elusive Uchiha was hiding. He wasn't behind her either, so again she turned to her front, only it was too late. He appeared before her faster than she could blink.

Sasuke grabbed one of her wrists and yanked her forward, his other arm swinging up to knock the air right from out of her chest. Without thinking, she made a dive for it, somersaulting right for his legs. His feet teetered to avoid being knocked down but the brief second it took to recover his balance allowed her the time to run two steps forward. She pulled a kunai out from one of the targets and flung it back at him. In quick succession, she tore the circular, disk-like target from its post and hurled it at his head as well.

He had an easy enough time dodging the kunai, though the unexpected disk grazed past his cheek.

Sakura wobbly stood on her spot, taking the time to examine his features closely and couldn't contain the elation that started building up in her chest. There, on his left cheek was a small, barely-there scratch. It wasn't much, but she had managed to land a hit and her eyes widened shortly in proud excitement.

Slowly, Sasuke raised his hand to his cheek to run his fingers over the scratch. He pulled them back to see the small traces of blood and narrowed his eyes upon the discovery. Then, as Sakura was still congratulating herself, he twisted around and delivered a harsh kick to the side of her ribcage.

The blow caught her entirely off-guard and she landed inelegantly on the ground while grunting slightly in pain. Wincing, she rolled onto her back and stared up at the blue sky with her arms and legs stretched out in surrender. A few birds flew overhead, reminding her that, at least some species, were enjoying the pleasant day outside unlike her. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky and the sun gently warming the earth below.

Her view was soon blocked by Sasuke's form, standing over her and peering down at her with his unconcerned typically blank expression in place.

"A shinobi must ignore all distractions." Rather than reply, Sakura turned her head to the side, mumbling to herself how it was a cheap shot. He hadn't even allowed her to internally gloat over her small triumph for more than a few seconds!

Rustling fabric met her ears and she looked up, stunned to see Sasuke kneeling beside her.

"Sasuke-kun…" Her voice faded when she noticed that he was no longer looking at her face, instead his eyes were directly on the side where his leg hit.

His hand reached forward with his eyes lowered in concentration as he hooked his fingers under the hem of her maroon coloured shirt and lifted it up to the base of her chest. Immediately her cheeks reddened and her hand shot up to swat his away, but it stilled when his fingers ghosted over her sore ribs. The tender act both reminded her of the pain and tickled her skin, making her heavy breathing turn into shallower pants.

"It will bruise." He stated the fact calmly, though it was a fact she already knew. As a medic, healing the non-fatal wound would be nothing more than a menial task. The ribs weren't cracked and there was no internal damage, at most the bones were bruised and would take no more than a few days to heal on its own. For the sake of personal comfort, she would heal it soon; though the feather light touches he was giving her put that task on hold.

His touch confused her. Its gentleness was almost comforting, or at least an indication of some level of concern. Yet, his eyes said nothing and hinted at no sign of remorse or compassion. How could he be so conflicting? Her body had never been touched in such a way before; it was sensitive and reacted to the way his fingers seemed to dance in circles over her sore ribs. It was platonic, but it stirred something more in the edges of her mind.

Sakura sucked in a deep breath to steady her nerves, her stomach tickled with the feel of butterflies fluttering inside.

"The other day," she began, hesitantly dragging her eyes from the view of his fingers to his face. "How did you know I was with Kakashi?" His onyx eyes stayed entranced on her side for several seconds before flickering lazily to her face. For some reason, she had to bite her bottom lip when his fingers stopped moving but his full hand flattened and rested on her skin.

"I know what I must."

The answer was vague and cryptic, causing her brows to furrow in partial confusion as she pondered its meaning. It really told her nothing as to how he knew, which is what she'd been asking. Her mouth dropped open a little to ask for more details but his smooth, deep voice spoke up first.

"Kakashi." He paused, taking in a breath before continuing, "I don't want you do hang around him anymore."

Her brows scrunched up, not understanding what he was saying, or why for that matter. "But, Kakashi-sensei is part of Team 7. He's our friend…" She spoke softly, logically. How could she just _stop _having anything to do with someone who was so important in her life.

"He's too perceptive and…" His eyes slithered to the side for a brief moment before his hard stare returned, "you're not a good liar."

Sakura's pink cheeks grew darker in colour from a mixture of embarrassment, shame, anger and, possibly something else but she would never admit it.

"I never said anything to him," she tried to defend herself, but she couldn't deny that she was a bad liar. She had never been able to fool anyone on her team at any point in their history together. Is that really a bad thing though? She was an honest person, her feelings easily read for those who truly knew her.

"He suspects," Sasuke bit out with slight distaste. "I can see it in his eyes and," he paused, observing her closely. She raised her brow slightly, prodding him with an unspoken '_and?'_

"The way he looks at you." His voice returned to its usual deep tone, but something heavy weighed in it.

"The way he looks at me?" Sakura repeated his statement as a question, bewilderment overtaking all other emotions. She hadn't noticed him looking at her any differently than usual. Was this just Sasuke being paranoid?

"Yes." He confirmed without elaboration.

"We'll have to lead his suspicions astray." As he spoke he started to lean in closer, his body now hovering atop hers and his raven hair brushing against her warm cheeks. He braced himself with his elbow on one side of her head, drawing their faces parallel to one another. The proximity instantly brought back memories of the night before and her breath hitched when feeling the heat from his clothed torso against her bare one.

"How?" She asked shakily, concentrating all her attention to his face so she could _try_ to ignore the sensations stirring in her body. Mistakenly, her concentration lapsed just enough for her viridian eyes to drop to his lips, sealed straight but looking as ever moist and inviting. No matter how much she fought it, no matter how much she resisted and told herself this man was no good, her body and mind still craved to be touched, to be kissed by him.

Dragging her attention away from his lips, she almost startled herself by the look in his eyes. They were darker than usual, half-lidded and she could feel the minute change in his breathing; she wouldn't have noticed it at all had she not been so close to him.

His lips parted slightly, and he seemed to hesitate shortly, as if torn between decisions before pressing his lips firm against hers. Without thought or hesitation she opened her mouth for his tongue to slip inside. Their tongues dueled for dominance, but he soon won control. She was always helpless to submit.

As his tongue explored her mouth, and their saliva's mixed, she couldn't help but wonder, could he taste the peach she'd just been eating?

Sasuke's hand on her stomach slowly start to drag upward, his fingers dancing along her skin leaving a trail of goose bumps wherever he touched. It seemed as though time flowed differently from the usual linear progression, everything slowed and the world around them disappeared. Her fears, her worries, her anger; it all melted away and left her light and wanting.

When she gazed up at him, she could see that, for all his cold stoicism and despite how unreadable he was around her, he wanted this too. It was the first time she could ever read an _emotion_, if you could call it that, so clearly in his eyes. That alone made her stomach flip and a moan fill their connected mouths.

He drew back, both of them took in deeps gasps of air, but he didn't stay still for long. His lips travelled to the soft spot at the lobe of her ear and the start of her neck. When his hot lips met the sensitive spot, sucking and darting his tongue over the captured area, her body involuntarily arched into his.

"Sasuke-kun," she gasped breathlessly, her fingers clinging to his shoulders in an attempt to ground her. Maybe she had been wrong the night before, maybe he really did want her…

At the sound of his name, he dragged himself away from the teasing spot and hungrily descended onto her mouth once more. His fingers paused at the base of her chest bindings, only the tip of his lone middle finger slid underneath, so close to touching one of her most intimate areas.

Sakura felt as though she could go on kissing him forever, she had never felt so close and connected to him as in that moment. Not only physically, but emotionally too.

When he drew back for air, she could only stare transfixed. Viridian and onyx held firm, and she waited for what he would do next. His lips parted, and she knew he wanted to say something.

"Kakashi." He rasped out, the control in his voice lapsed by their activities.

Confusion mired her features and she was about to ask what he was talking about, but his eyes, which were quickly reverting back to cold emptiness, shifted somewhere to the side of her peripheral vision.

"What do you want?" He snapped.

Sakura realized then, that the man they'd just been talking about prior to all this started, the man Sasuke wanted her to avoid, was standing only a dozen steps away. Her fingers tightened in the fabric of his shirt. That light, warm feeling evaporated quicker than she could say his name. It replaced with a stiff, empty feeling that left her cold and struggling to fight back the tears. The only thought replaying in her mind, was it a coincidence Kakashi arrived exactly when Sasuke had her in this position or...

Had everything been a ruse?

When Kakashi started to speak, she had to turn her head away from his direction to bury her face in the sleeve of Sasuke's shirt. She had to hide the shame and embarrassment she felt at having fallen into every one of Sasuke's whims yet again. The tears in her eyes prickled and hung precariously in the corners of her lashes. She would not cry. Not in front of him. Even so, she had to bite her lips to contain herself.

Kakashi cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with having disrupted such a scene. "Tsunade-sama wants us to report for a mission. I came here to…" he fumbled with his words for a moment, "to get you."

A sigh escaped Sasuke lips, and she could feel his gaze on her but refused to look up to meet whatever expression he was giving her. Instead, she shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable. For Sasuke to leave her, as if nothing at all had happened.

The silence stretched, increasing her sense of unease and almost suffocating her in a miserable form of anticipation. Deftly, she felt a fleeting kiss brush against her cheek, soon followed by a rush of cool air as Sasuke withdrew. He had the decency to pull her shirt down and cover up her exposed torso before standing and stepping over her body without another word.

Sakura rolled onto her side, bringing her hand to her sore side. By the time the first tear rolled down her cheek, the two men behind her were already gone, leaving her as alone as she felt on the inside.

Without a doubt, she thought to herself, she was a pitiful creature. But, she would find a way to hate him… She had to. She had to free herself from the flame.

* * *

**A/N: **Haha, had that idea with Kakashi walking 'in' on them for a while now. I apologize if the 'fight' scene was really lame; first of all, it's hard to write. Second of all, I _do _think Sakura is a strong/talented kunoichi buuut _realistically,_ she is no match for Sasuke or Naruto. I mean, we're talking about one with a kekkei genkai and another who's a jinchuuriki. I think ALL the females in Naruto are portrayed as fairly inadequate against their male counterparts but I guess that's shoujo manga for you. The point is, I find it highly unrealistic for Sakura to ever match or rise above Sasuke in terms of fighting, even though that'd be pretty cool lol.

Hm, I feel like most people dislike Sasuke in this fic or possibly find his actions confusing. I suppose that's good since this is Sakura's POV, though I always think in Sasuke's POV as well, while writing, so I know what he's thinking during all these scenes/chapters and it makes sense ^p^ Lastly, I hope people don't find Sakura too flip-floppy... Hopefully the ending here lets you know that will change. Just remember that (in the manga), even after Sasuke betrayed Konoha, tried to kill her 2-3 times, and said he was going to kill Naruto, she still (somehow) has deep feelings for him. She gives him too many chances;;;


End file.
